[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17328]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, John Muir, a naturalist, author, and 
environmental philosopher, once said, ``When we try to pick out 
anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the 
universe.'' This couldn't be truer when it comes to the effect climate 
change is having on the biodiversity of our planet.
  We can't solve the climate change crisis without realizing how 
interconnected its impacts truly are. The Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change has predicted, assuming that current trends in burning 
fossil fuel continue, by the year 2100, the surface of the Earth will 
warm on an average of 6 degrees Celsius. That kind of potential for 
rapid and lasting climate warming poses a significant challenge for 
biodiversity conservation.
  It may seem obvious, but the places that plants and animals can exist 
are limited by factors such as sunlight, precipitation, and 
temperature. A polar bear can't exist in Brazil, just as a lion can't 
exist in Antarctica. You won't find palm trees in Greenland, just like 
you won't find pine trees in Argentina.
  So, as climate changes, the abundance and distribution of plants and 
animals will also change. Climate change alone is expected to threaten 
approximately one-quarter, possibly more, of all species on land with 
extinction by the year 2050. That means climate change will surpass 
habitat loss as the biggest threat to life on land.
  Because of climate change, birds lay eggs earlier in the year, plants 
bloom earlier, and mammals come out of hibernation sooner. These 
changes may sound insignificant, but they drastically impact the life 
cycle of each population and, therefore, any species that rely on it. 
We are literally altering the timeline of nature.
  The need to protect plant and animals species might not be a top 
priority for some of my colleagues, but I urge them to consider the 
other impacts. Twelve plant species provide approximately 75 percent of 
our total food supply. What is not generally appreciated is that these 
relatively few species depend on hundreds and thousands of other 
species for their productivity.
  Our food supply is not only based on the food we eat, but insects and 
birds that pollinate crop flowers and feed on crop pests. For example, 
more than 80 percent of the 264 crops grown in the European Union 
depend on insect pollinators.
  A lack of biodiversity can lead to a decreased ability to produce 
medicine, as key plants are lost to extinction. And without specific 
plants, such as grasses and trees that have evolved to resist the 
spread of wildfires or mitigate the impacts of flooding, we are losing 
a key shield in protecting against natural disasters. These are 
nature's defenders, and we are losing them.
  In my own backyard, these climate changes are expected to impact 
regional biodiversity in a variety of direct and indirect ways. The 
Chicago wilderness, which expands across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, 
and Michigan, will likely experience changes in the timing of natural 
events, such as blooming, migration, and the onset of hibernation. It 
could also cause a loss of suitable habitat and a disruption of 
ecological communities due to different responses to climate change.
  These impacts are not limited to our land, plants, and animals. 
Changes in biodiversity will have significant impacts on our waterways 
as well. In the Great Lakes, native plant and animal species will 
differ wildly in their responses to changing stream temperature and 
hydrology. Wetland plant communities are continually adapting to 
changing water levels. However, the extreme changes we see as a result 
of climate changes, such as droughts and flooding, create more unstable 
environments for species.
  Protecting our biodiversity does more than save plants and animals. 
It protects agriculture, medicine, and the overall safety of our 
communities.
  From the beginning of time, nature has fed us, cured us and protected 
us. Now it is our turn. If we let one piece fail, we are putting the 
entire system at risk. We need to protect plant and animal species from 
an ever-changing climate if we want to secure a healthy and prosperous 
future for our children.
  I urge my colleagues to stop ignoring the science and support Federal 
legislation that acts on climate change and addresses these grave 
biological threats.

                          ____________________