Jim Baird: “Mr. Speaker, it is entirely appropriate that we do this today, on Earth Day. I wore a tie which my wife gave me for…”

“Mr. Speaker, it is entirely appropriate that we do this today, on Earth Day. I wore a tie which my wife gave me for Christmas which has a picture of my twin 3-year-old boys on it. When we talk preserving rain forests or preserving coral reefs, I think all of us have this commitment, that our children and our grandchildren should one day be able to enjoy these. But if we do not act promptly, quite frankly, I fear that they will not be able to. I have witnessed firsthand the degradation of some of what were the most the magnificent reefs on Earth. If you did not know what they are supposed to look like, you might not recognize the difference. But when you go underwater and things that are supposed to be there are not, species of fish, certain types of corals, gone; when you see corals that have been knocked over; when you see bleaching of almost every coral you see; when you see areas where marine anchors have been dragged across them; when you see areas where excessive human pressure in the form of divers and other things have damaged the reefs; when you see invasive species that are devouring some of the creatures that should be there; when you see runoff from nearby rivers; that is what is happening already.”