On the recordDecember 16, 2015
Congressman Gallego, you come from one of the hottest spots in the United States. Congressman Boyle, you also alluded to November being the hottest month on record. It seems like every month we learn that the month before was the hottest month on record. We are in the United States. If we were in Australia or South America, hearing that November is the hottest month on record may not be as surprising as a month that is in the dead of fall and the dawn of winter in the United States. Congressman Lieu, you represent a district that for 40 years before you were there was represented by the great Henry Waxman, someone who did a lot of good work on this floor to address climate change. In our home State of California, while the future specific day-to-day effects of climate change are not yet known, projections not only show a rise in sea levels across the world and threatening our coast in California, but models are also suggesting increasingly extreme weather events. Whether you are in the Los Angeles area or in the San Francisco Bay area, we have been experiencing drought-like conditions for years as well as hurricanes on the East Coast in places like the northeast that have not seen the intensity like Hurricane Sandy, which we have seen before. {time} 1530 And so, as we adapt for our current climate and any rapid change in our environment, I want to know, Congressman Lieu, can you talk a little bit about weather events and why this is a threat to coastal communities?
