Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, did my colleague from Alaska wish to intervene for a moment?

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Mr. MERKLEY. Yes, 10 minutes.

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Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, the most important words in the crafting of our Constitution are the first three words. Those words are ``We the People.'' As President Lincoln so eloquently put it, this is the notion that we would create a system of governance that would be governance of the people, by the people, and for the people. I will be rising periodically to address issues that affect American citizens across our Nation, that are important, that are urgent, and that this body should be addressing.

This week I am using my ``We the People'' speech to highlight excerpts from an article written by NASA scientist Piers Sellers. Piers Sellers was an astronaut. He has been a NASA scientist, and he shared this article from which I am taking portions. He says:

I'm a climate scientist who has just been told I have Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

He continues:

This diagnosis puts me in an interesting position. I've spent much of my professional life thinking about the science of climate change, which is best viewed through a multidecadal lens. At some level I was sure that, even at my present age of 60, I would live to see the most critical part of the problem, and its possible solutions, play out in my lifetime. Now that my personal horizon has been steeply foreshortened, I was forced to decide how to spend my remaining time. Was continuing to think about climate change worth the bother?

He goes on to note that he examined his bucket list and he found only two things that really mattered: spending time with his family--as he put it, ``with the people I know and love''--and then getting back to his office ``as quickly as possible'' to continue the work on climate science and addressing climate change.

He notes:

On the science side, there has been a steady accumulation of evidence from the last 15 years that climate change is real and that its trajectory could lead us to a very uncomfortable, if not dangerous, place. On the policy side, the just-concluded climate conference in Paris set a goal of holding the increase in global average temperature to 2 degrees Celsius . . . above preindustrial levels.

He continues:

It's doubtful that we'll hold the line at 2 degrees . . . but we need to give it our best shot. With scenarios that exceed that target, we are talking about enormous changes in global precipitation and temperature patterns, huge impacts on water and food security, and significant sea level rise.

He continues, saying that ``Pope Francis and a think tank of retired military officers have drawn roughly the same conclusion . . . The worst impacts will be felt by the world's poorest.''

He continues to examine this and notes that while heavy lifting will have to be done by policymakers--and he is speaking to all of us-- scientists can add a great deal, and scientists at NASA can help by keeping track of the changes in the Earth's system and using their powerful computer models to explore which approaches to addressing this problem are practical, trading off near-term impacts against longer term impacts.

He observes that engineers and industrialists must come up with new technologies to address the challenges of clean energy generation, storage, and distribution, and that they must be solved within a few decades.

Later in the article, he says:

History is replete with examples of us humans getting out of tight spots. The winners tend to be realistic, pragmatic, and flexible; the losers are often in denial of the threat.

He closes by saying this:

As for me, I have no complaints. I am very grateful for the experiences I have had on this planet. As an astronaut, I space-walked 220 miles above the Earth, floating alongside the International Space Station. I watched hurricanes cartwheel across the ocean, the Amazon snake its way through a sea of brilliant green carpeted forest, and gigantic nighttime thunderstorms flash and flare for hundreds of miles along the Ecuador. From this God's-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is, and I am hopeful for its future.

``And so,'' he concludes, ``I am going to work tomorrow.''

I simply want to thank Piers for his lifetime of commitment to science, his service as an astronaut, his continuing to work on this major challenge of addressing the planet, and that he would see--even in these days where he is fighting a battle against a forceful, powerful disease, he is dedicating his efforts to this challenge.

Is that not a call for all of us to see how important it is for us to dedicate our efforts to take on this challenge and to recognize, as he points out, that major strategies must be developed in a short period of time to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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