On the recordDecember 8, 2015
the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Ben Cardin, led a delegation of 10 Senators to Paris this past weekend. We went to support the ``high- ambition coalition'' on the international climate agreement. It was truly impressive to see so many nations represented at the meeting, active and trying to help. All of us in the codel came away from Paris with a good feeling about the prospects for a strong climate agreement. I had the chance to speak at Oceans Day, where people were keenly aware that the effects of carbon pollution on our oceans are undeniable. You can measure the warming oceans with thermometers. You measure sea level rise with basically a yardstick. You can measure acidification of the seas with simple pH tests. You can replicate what excess CO<INF>2</INF> does to seawater in a basic high school science lab. That is why the big, phony climate denial apparatus the fossil fuel industry is running never talks about oceans. It is undeniable there. I also had a chance in Paris to cheer on our bright, young negotiating team staff, who worked late hours in their windowless common workspace but were very enthusiastic and made me very proud. The delegation also met with Todd Stern, who was leading the U.S. negotiating team, and we visited the NOAA scientists who were at the U.S. Pavilion. The U.S. presence there was great. One thing was sad, and that is that our Senate delegation of 10 Senators was all Democrats.…





