I appreciate your championing that initiative.

Clearly we need, as Senator Cardin said, a review of our energy strategy.

We are at grave risk of the chemical contamination to our oceans and the seafood and species contained therein.

I think that anybody who really believes that should go tell that to the tourist economy of Florida.

We need more science. We need better information.

I think it is particularly important for EPA to be alert to the damage that both carbon pollution and chemical pollution are likely causing or are causing in our oceans.

But you are comfortable that the EPA's current statutory authority allows it to consider these kinds of harms in its analysis of what parts of the environment need to be protected.

So it bioaccumulates not only in the body of an individual whale as it continues to swim and eat and age, it will also bioaccumulate in the species because lactation passes it on to the next generation in an upward ratchet of poisoning.

We were told something like this cannot happen. It did.

The principal responsibility rests with governments.

We are a terrestrial species. We focus a great deal of our attention on the land, the earth around us.

We need to have a stronger international leadership to deal with the complexities of what is happening in our oceans.

We are starting to get there today on global climate change, and that is good.

the toxic soup notion of either chemical interactions working against the environment or its effects on a particular creature accumulating from one chemical harming them here to one chemical harming them there, it is a very real problem.

I think it is an incredibly important issue, and as I say, you could make a fairly tight suggestion that it was the biggest public health issue humanity has ever faced.

How about the Clean Air Act?

We also put forth a bill co-sponsored by Chairman Leahy of the Judiciary Committee to reverse the limitation on punitive damages.

the legislation that you put forth today for an independent commission will help us along the way in that regard.