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Opening Remarks of Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo
Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans
"Wildlife and Oceans in a Changing Climate"
April 17, 2007
This morning's hearing will focus on the effects of climate change on wildlife and oceans. Once a phenomenon discussed almost exclusively by scientists, climate change has moved front and center in the discussion amongst policymakers, businesses, and citizens all over the word. We are no longer dealing with the question of if climate change is occurring; we are now addressing what we can do.
The "warming of the climate system is unequivocal," and is now evident worldwide, according to a report issued earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We are seeing increases in global air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, rising global average sea level, and changes in ocean salinity, precipitation, heat waves and the increased intensity of tropical storms.
On April 6th, a second IPCC report concluded that "observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases." Climate change will negatively affect our coasts, wetlands, and mangroves through increased erosion and sea level rise. Global warming is affecting corals through increases in sea surface temperature and acidification; and affecting wildlife through the loss of preferred habitat and changes in seasonal migration patterns.
I am personally concerned with the report's specific predictions for the detrimental effects of climate change on small island communities. While coral reefs are prized for their beauty and diversity worldwide, they are invaluable to those of us from small island communities who depend on them as a valuable resource and as protection from severe storms such as typhoons. As we will hear today, scientists are observing and predicting detrimental effects of climate change not only on our oceans and coral, but also on a great number of other animals, such as migratory birds, tigers, trout, polar bears, and sea turtles.
The purpose of this hearing is to shed light on the impacts of climate change and additional factors which can exacerbate global warming impacts, including habitat degradation and loss, invasive species, disease, pollution, poaching, and overfishing. We are looking at what we can do to address the effects of climate change on our oceans and wildlife.
As Peter Ewins, the executive director of the British Meteorological Office said in a letter to the world's press in 1999, "ignoring climate change will be the most costly of all possible choices, for us and our children."
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