On the recordJuly 7, 2016
When it comes to climate change, the data is in and the science clear: Our world is shifting. Sea levels are rising. Glaciers are shrinking. Oceans are becoming more acidic. What is more? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is 95 percent certain that humans are causing the current climate change trend. To sit here and deny the science simply because it inconveniences us does nothing but cause greater harm for our planet and future generations. Each day that passes without action on climate change is another day we are wreaking havoc on our world. I think President Obama said it best when he stated: ``If anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You'll be pretty lonely, because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it's a problem and intend to solve it.'' It is hard to believe that some of my colleagues are so determined to deny climate science that they are willing to sacrifice the health and safety of Americans. Nowhere is the sacrifice more evident than in our waterways. We use water for everything, from drinking and bathing to growing crops, shipping goods, generating electricity, and recreation. But climate change is creating profound changes to this precious commodity, threatening water availability, access, and quality.…
