Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as the Senate considers the annual authorization of our military and national defense programs, I am here for my 178th ``Time to Wake Up'' speech, to discuss the security risks climate change presents to our Nation. I urge my colleagues to heed the warnings from our national security experts, not just the self-serving propaganda of the fossil fuel industry that blankets us. What are these national security risks? A first order of security risk is the physical damage climate change is causing in our atmosphere, oceans, and environment. Science and our senses are already perceiving this damage, indeed already measuring this damage. This order of security risk--risk to the Earth's natural order--will hurt farming communities, coastal communities, fishing communities, and anyone vulnerable to wildfires and extreme weather all around the world. Of course, the poorer you are, the more vulnerable you are to this risk. The second order of security risk from climate change is the consequences in human society from those physical, biological, and chemical changes in our Earth's environment. As farms or fisheries fail, people are impoverished and dislocated. Scarcity of resources leads to conflicts and confrontations. Storms and fires and floods can make the suffering acute. People who are hungry or dislocated or torn from their roots can become desperate, can become radicalized and violent.…”