Nomination of Antony Blinken to be Deputy Secretary of State

Floor Speech

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Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, we are winding down the end of this year and, indeed, the end of this Congress, and I am here today to give the last ``Time to Wake Up'' speech in this Congress. I am particularly pleased to be delivering it while my friend from West Virginia is presiding. He actually took the trouble to come to Rhode Island and hear firsthand about what is happening in my State on these issues.

The year that is ending now ushered in some mighty dubious milestones. January through November 2014--the year so far--were the hottest first 11 months of any year recorded. Unless something dramatic changes in December, 2014 is on track to be the hottest year since we began keeping records back in 1880. That would mean that 14 of the warmest 15 years on record were in this century. According to the World Meteorological Organization's secretary general, ``There is no standstill in global warming.''

This chart shows the decades-long rise in the ocean's heat content from the surface down to a depth of 2,000 meters--a little over 1 mile. Look at 2005 to 2014, the red part. NASA estimates that the amount of energy needed to account for that much warming in that much ocean is equivalent to four magnitude-6.0 earthquakes occurring every second for those 9 years. Four 6.0 earthquakes every second for 9 years would create the kind of energy necessary to warm that much. Well, obviously it wasn't earthquakes that did it. We would have known about that. And the first law of thermodynamics--conservation of energy--decrees that all that heat in the ocean had to come from somewhere. The near certain source of that heat is increased greenhouse gases, mostly carbon pollution trapping heat from the Sun.

Since the rise of fossil fuel energy, we have been on a carbon binge. As long as humans have been on the Earth, we have existed safely in a range of about 170 to about 300 parts per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This year the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, measured at the famous Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, exceeded 400 parts per million for more than 3 months. Archeologists estimate that our human species has been around on this planet for about 200,000 years. The Earth last saw such high levels of carbon as 400 parts per million for that long a period more than 800,000 years ago.

Oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the excess heat that the carbon has trapped. As seawater warms--we all know by the law of thermal expansion--it expands, and as a result sea levels rise. Satellite measurements show that in this period, global average sea level rose about an inch. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory attributes about one-third of global mean sea level rise to the warming of the upper ocean. Combine that with the melting of glaciers on land, and you can see that climate change is significantly increasing sea level worldwide. In my home State I see this. And the Presiding Officer was there. The Newport tide gauge records nearly 10 inches more water than it did in the 1930s.

Carbon pollution in the atmosphere also dissolves in the ocean. It doesn't just warm it up, it dissolves in it. When it dissolves in it, it makes it more acidic. Indeed, the extra carbon dioxide that humans have pumped into the oceans has caused a nearly 30 percent increase in the acidity of the upper ocean, which means a lot for shellfish, such as mussels and clams and oysters, that make their shells from calcium carbonate because calcium carbonate dissolves in acidified seawater.

In July 2014 a Maine oyster farmer--a guy named Bill Mook--came to the Environment and Public Works Committee and described for us the difficulty his oyster crop--his oyster spat, they call it--had maturing. Here is what he said:

Through observation, trial, and error, we reached the same conclusion made by researchers using controlled, replicated experimentation. Acidification is not a future problem. It is a problem now, and it will only get worse.

He said it is a problem now and it will only get worse.

Measurements of the atmosphere and ocean tell us that climate change is real. We already see the harm connected with it in storm-damaged homes, flooded cities, drought-stricken farms, and raging wildfires, in fish disappearing from warming, acidifying waters, in shifting habitats and migrating contagions. Climate change loads the dice for these events, which carry real costs to homeowners, business owners, and taxpayers. A key cause is undeniably carbon pollution.

Some of my Republican colleagues continue to deny that climate change is even happening or at best they will stand mute in the face of the changes we see, in the face of so much evidence. ``I am not a scientist'' is all we get from some. Well, if they are not scientists, maybe they should ask one. Ask NOAA. Ask NASA. Ask our National Academies.

If a Senator doesn't know what they are talking about, they should study up. That is our job. If they can't be bothered to ask a scientist, then look at what the military is saying about climate change or what the business community is saying.

The military's 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, for example, offers a straightforward assessment of the threat climate change poses to national and international security. Even in Pentagon bureaucratese, the assessment is pretty harsh:

Climate change poses [a] significant challenge for the United States and the world at large.

Climate change may exacerbate water scarcity and lead to sharp increases in food costs. The pressures caused by climate change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and governance institutions around the world.

The Pentagon also released a Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap this year, detailing the military's plans for a changed climate. The report states in no uncertain terms:

Climate change will affect the Department of Defense's ability to defend the Nation and poses immediate risks to U.S. national security.

That would seem to me to be a phrase worth listening to.

The business and financial community also see climate risk. Former Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson teamed up with former New York City business tycoon and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, and others, to put together an evidence-based assessment of the risks posed by climate change to the U.S. economy. Their report found that between $66 billion and $106 billion worth of existing American coastal property will likely be below sea level by midcentury. That pricetag could top $500 billion by the end of the century.

They also found extreme heat could reduce labor productivity of outdoor workers by as much as 3 percent by the end of the century.

They found that shifting agricultural patterns could cause States in the Southeast, the lower Great Plains, and Midwest to see a 50- to 70-percent loss in average annual crop yields. It is a risk we would be reckless to ignore.

One bright light of 2014 has been the proposed limits on carbon emissions from existing coal plants announced this year by the Obama administration. The new standard will not only reduce emissions, it will change the way the polluters think. Now that it is no longer going to be free to pollute, I suspect some new thinking by polluters will be followed in short order with some new thinking on the other side of the aisle here in the Senate.

Another bright light of 2014 was the Obama administration's carbon-reduction agreement with China, the world's largest carbon polluter now, followed by news this weekend from Lima that every nation in the world is expected to put forward a plan to rein in its carbon pollution.

The public is with us on this, too. A recent poll released by the insurance firm Munich Re showed that 83 percent of Americans believe the climate is changing.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask unanimous consent for 1 additional minute to conclude the page in front of me.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Seven Americans in ten say we should use more solar and wind power to battle climate change. An AP poll released this week said that half of Republicans favor regulations on carbon dioxide emissions.

In 2014, the physical evidence of climate change continued to mount. Our military, our business leaders, our President, and the American people all affirmed their commitment to fending off the worst effects of carbon pollution. So in 2015, Congress will need to step up to the plate.

I have introduced carbon fee legislation that would provide a practical tool for getting this done. By charging a fee on carbon pollution, we can correct the market failure that lets polluters unload the costs of their pollution on the rest of us, and compete unfairly in energy markets. We can use those proceeds to reduce other taxes. Most important, we can significantly reduce harmful carbon pollution. We just need to wake up. Maybe 2015 will be the year.

I thank the Senator from Oklahoma for his courtesy, and I yield the floor.

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