Hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works - Examining the Human Health Impacts of Global Warming

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Hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works - Examining the Human Health Impacts of Global Warming

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SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): Thank you, Madame Chair.

May I ask unanimous consent that my opening statement be put at the appropriate place in the record.

SEN. BOXER: (Off mike.)

SEN. WHITEHOUSE: Thank you.

Doctor, I serve also on the Intelligence Committee, and we spend a great deal of time looking at national security issues. And I was wondering if you would be -- if you'd mind talking a little bit about global warming and climate change in the context of United States national security, both in terms of direct impact occurring within the geographic United States and also indirect impacts from consequences that physically occur in other nations but have ramifications for U.S. national security.

DR. GERBERDING: I think I can address this generically and then perhaps in more detail in another environment.

SEN. WHITEHOUSE: Since we have three minutes and 10 seconds, I think we have to do it pretty generically here.

DR. GERBERDING: I would say that first of all, the two large areas where this would be most relevant are in the areas of food security and water security, because obviously, the kinds of social disruption and the economic harms that can come about if those problems emerge in a particular location add to other factors that initiate ideologic conflict and/or other kinds of stripe. So we're mindful of the intersection between health, security and economics. And all we have to do is look at SARS to understand what a tremendous problem that one infectious disease outbreak really created. So it's a very interdependent process and there absolutely are important security concerns that we can certainly speculate about and talk offline.

SEN. WHITEHOUSE: Good. Appreciate it.

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