Hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the Effects of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification on Living Marine Reso

Statement

Hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the Effects of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification on Living Marine Resources

Statement of Maria Cantwell

I'd like to welcome you all to this important hearing on the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on living marine resources.

Today we are fortunate to have with us many of the top experts in the fields of ocean and climate science. I'd like to thank each of you for being here; I look forward to hearing your testimony.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, humans have released over 1.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Only now are we beginning to understand the implications of this.

When scientists first started raising questions about our carbon dioxide emissions in the 1950s, very little was known about the possible consequences.
Some predicted that the carbon dioxide would accumulate in the atmosphere. Others predicted that it would be absorbed by the world's oceans.

Today, we know that both of those predictions were correct.

Human-caused emissions have increased the global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35%. In addition, over half a trillion tons of carbon dioxide have been absorbed by our oceans.

We're already seeing the impacts of this on our ocean and coastal ecosystems. If we continue with "business as usual," the ecological, social, and economic consequences are likely to be severe.

Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere: Global Warming
After extensive scientific research, climate scientists now know that global warming is happening. And it is happening because of human use of fossil fuels.

We are seeing more results of global warming every day:
· Year after year, our polar ice caps are receding
· Glaciers are shrinking rapidly and even disappearing
· Permafrost is melting
· And to give one example from my home state, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reported that the mountain snowpack that feeds the Columbia River system is shrinking away, producing less and less water for the rivers every year.

While these easy-to-see impacts of global warming are highly disturbing, we are here today to examine impacts that are not quite as visible, but just as severe - those that occur beneath the surface of the ocean.

The impact of climate change on our coastal communities from sea level rise and increased storm intensity has been the focus of much attention.

But climate change also poses risks to our nation's multi-billion dollar fishing industry.
In fact, global warming could threaten the very integrity of ocean ecosystems and possibly wipe out more vulnerable ecosystems like coral reefs.

These are frightening possibilities - but very real ones. While it may not be easy to physically see the impacts of global warming in the ocean, it is vital that we examine them. If we wait until these problems are too painful and too obvious to ignore, it will be far too late.

Carbon Dioxide in the Oceans: Ocean Acidification
While carbon dioxide is accumulating in our atmosphere, it is also being absorbed by our oceans.

Approximately one-third of our carbon dioxide emissions end up in the oceans. For decades, we assumed that the oceans absorbed these greenhouse gases to the benefit of our atmosphere with no side-effect for the seas.

Emerging science now shows we were wrong.

Thanks in no small part to the work of our panelists, we now know that the absorption of carbon dioxide actually changes the very chemistry of the ocean:

· Seawater becomes more acidic, and begins to withhold the basic chemical building blocks needed by many marine organisms.

· Coral reefs - the rainforests of the sea - cannot build their skeletons.

· In colder waters, scientists predict a more acidic ocean could dissolve the shells of the tiny organisms that make up the base of the ocean's food chain.

When it comes to ocean acidification, we risk not just damaging the ocean's ecosystem - we are threatening its very foundation.

The social and economic costs to the world's fisheries and fishery-dependant communities are incalculable.

Managers at the local, state, and regional levels must be able to anticipate and develop strategies to address these threats.

Washington State
The dangers of global climate change and ocean acidification can be illustrated well with one brief example from my home state of Washington.

As most of you probably know, Washington State is home to a number of important salmon populations. Salmon are a $330 million industry in the Pacific, and a cultural icon of the Northwest.

As I mentioned earlier, global warming will continue to reduce the snowpack that feeds our rivers. With each coming season there will be less water, and the water will probably get warmer.

Salmon rely on predictable and steady river flows for their survival.

In the sea, young salmon depend on a food chain based on zooplankton. As ocean acidification takes hold, these organisms may no longer be able to survive.

Conclusion
Every coastal state can point to examples like this of the impacts of climate change on our ocean. And these examples are far too important to be ignored.

Both global warming and ocean acidification have the same cause and the same solution: we must reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide.

If we fail to address the potential impact of global climate change and ocean acidification, we may be jeopardizing all of our hard-fought ocean conservation gains.

Those are difficult words to hear, but they reflect a difficult reality.

Thank you all again for joining us today and for your hard work advancing this complicated, but necessary dialogue.

I look forward to your testimony.

Senator Snowe, your opening remarks?

Source