Political Quotes

“Madam President, let me just say I hope we can find a way to move forward. Ms. Bavishi is needed to fill a very important position. Those of us in coastal States know the problem with Oceans and Atmosphere is profound. Perhaps my favorite new figure is called the zettajoule, the joule being the unit of heat energy by which we measure energy. The zettajoule is a joule with 21 zeros. It is a very, very big number. It is twice the complete full energy production and use by human species on the planet. All of our energy, our cars, our trucks, our homes, our factories--everything is half a zettajoule. For the price of that, we add 14 zettajoules of heat into the ocean every single year--every single year. It is the equivalent of three or four Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs being set off in the ocean every second and the ocean having to absorb that heat energy. As the Senator from Maine knows, the Gulf of Maine is one of the fastest heating bodies of water on the planet, and she sees it as her fisheries and her lobster fisheries, in particular, move northward. I am eager to find a way to make sure that Bavishi can get in place. She is a leading climate expert who worked in the New York Mayor's Office of Climate Resiliency and, before that, in the CEQ at the White House. I respect the concerns that the Senator from Maine has indicated. As I said, I have my own.…”