[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12843-12844]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CLIMATE RESEARCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Ms. Edwards) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, climate change is not a science debate; it 
never was. As we know, science is never universally agreed upon. It's a 
constant reexamining of what is deemed the squats quo. Nonetheless, the 
science surrounding climate change is near universal and it is 
incontrovertible. Over several decades of study, an overwhelming 
majority of scientists, including many at NOAA and NASA Goddard, in 
fact, in my district, as well as researchers worldwide, have concluded 
that climate change is real, is caused by man, and will have a 
significant impact on our Earth, it's process, the safety of our 
public, and our economy. These findings simply must quell the 
ideological differences and guide our policy decisions with regard to 
our environment in all due haste.
  As a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 
I remain astounded that so much climate denial exists within these 
Chambers. This doubt is translated into slashing funding for climate 
research and Earth science research, both short-term and long-term. 
It's resulted in preventing agencies with the expertise to maintain and 
develop Earth-observing systems and conduct the analysis necessary to 
understand our Earth--all slashed.
  Just 2 weeks ago, our House Science Committee reported out 
legislation that would cut NASA's Earth science budget by a third, 
something like over $600 million. NASA is a major contributor to our 
U.S. Global Change Research Program, and such a cut would not only 
devastate Earth science research, but hamper our ability to understand 
what is truly a matter of national significance, indeed, global 
significance.
  Unfortunately, my home State of Maryland will suffer 
disproportionately if this Chamber refuses to act. Maryland has the 
fourth longest tidal coastline and is the third most vulnerable to sea 
level rise, one of the major consequences of climate change. Islands 
and low-lying communities throughout our State will be impacted by 
rising seas and severe weather events like Hurricane Sandy. Just last 
week, The Washington Post reported that Maryland's coastal waters could 
rise 6 feet by the end of this century. This increase could cause 
flooding in major cities like Baltimore and Annapolis. Areas on the 
lower half of the Delmarva Peninsula could be especially impacted. 
While our State has been proactive about preparing for these kind of 
environmental changes, thermal expansion of our oceans and waterways 
will pose significant problems for the State, indeed, for our Nation.

[[Page 12844]]

  But this is not one State's concern; it's a 50-State concern and a 
global concern.
  Goddard Spaceflight Center, which is located just outside my 
congressional district, is home to a number of climate scientists who 
are genuinely concerned about observed and predicted trends for the 
future. This historical trend of warming and sea level ice, in 
particular, are not fiction or hyperbole. They are, in fact, facts that 
are indisputable and in many ways terrifying.
  I want to bring to your attention image 1 here. In Maryland, the 
warming trend over 100 years has increased from 2 degrees Fahrenheit to 
6.1 degrees, just since 1960. This is significant and concerning 
warming in just my State. The U.S. trends are equally staggering, and 
the global trends are even more overwhelming.
  But what concerns me even more is this chart here. This chart depicts 
polar sea ice, which is important to control and moderate global 
climate. As sea ice melts in the summer, it absorbs the sunlight and 
warms our poles. What's happening is that, because, according to the 
National Snow and Ice Data Center, even a slight warming of the poles 
will quicken the pace of global warming and likely lead to more severe 
climate patterns. Since 2000, Arctic ice during the summer has been 
melting at rates that are scaring scientists. Here, what you see is a 
sharp decline during the summer ice melting. Last year, half of the sea 
ice actually melted during the summer.
  I want to highlight one more thing. Our most conservative models 
didn't predict what we've actually observed in terms of decline in sea 
ice thickness. Our climate model simulations have failed to keep up 
with actual significant loss. This problem is twofold:
  First, additional cuts to climate research and gaps in our 
satellites--and there are gaps because we're not funding them--make 
these observations even less accurate and weaken our modeling;
  Second, the poles are actually warming faster than we ever predicted. 
It's estimated that by 2020, all the sea ice during the summer will be 
melted.
  It's time for us to act. For the sake of the future generations of 
our economy, our environment, let's restore climate research capacity. 
Let's act for future generations.

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