John Kerry: “There is evidence in some of those levees they are not going to be able to withstand the intensity of the storms we now…”

“There is evidence in some of those levees they are not going to be able to withstand the intensity of the storms we now project. The current guidelines for Corps project planning were written in 1983, long before scientists were focusing on the existence as well as the threat and impacts of climate change. So I believe it is critical for the Corps to begin to account for that. This amendment directs them to simply take climate change into account when conducting project feasibility studies or general evaluation reports. It ensures that Corps projects, particularly those that provide the first line of defense against climate impacts, are designed with global warming in mind. This amendment is supported by dozens of groups that represent coastal communities and resources, from the National Wildlife Federation and American Rivers, to the Association of State Floodplain Managers, regional groups that represent coastal interests, including the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and the Great Lakes States Coalition. They all strongly support this amendment. They support it because it protects our wetlands. They support it because it advances our policy response on a subject where the politics has often struggled to keep pace with the science. On a weekly basis, we see mounting evidence and mounting alarm bells going off highlighting our need to act. This is our opportunity to do so for the first time.”