Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am grateful to be joined by my wonderful colleague from Oregon, Senator Merkley, for my 222nd ``Time to Wake Up'' climate speech. Although there are thousands of miles between us--on the west and east coasts--Oregon and Rhode Island share a common connection; that is, our oceans. Fisheries and coastal tourism are major drivers of our economies. Our coastlines are vibrant with homes, families, and businesses. We are ocean States. So we are here to talk about the challenges of human-driven climate change for our oceans and coasts: sea level rise, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, warming, and increased storm surge. Our local agencies and officials and our coastal residents understand the changes that are coming at them. Not all States are prepared, however, and in the aftermath of severe storms like Hurricane Florence and last year's hurricanes, powered up by higher seas and superheated ocean water, we are seeing the consequences of this failure. Last month was the 80th anniversary of the Great Hurricane of 1938. The storm barreled through southern New England, destroying roads and ports and businesses and homes. This is a photograph of downtown Providence. That is the roof of a car, and they built cars pretty tall back in 1938. Over 560 people lost their lives in this storm.…”