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• Climate Change Finance: Providing Assistance for Vulnerable Countries, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, July 27, 2010

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  From the statement of Lael Brainard: "Climate and development are increasingly two sides of the same coin. Choices surrounding climate will greatly determine the fate of the poor, just as choices on the path out of poverty will greatly influence the fate of the climate. Let me make three brief observations about our work on climate and development, focusing on how Treasury directs and leverages multilateral financial tools to tackle these challenges." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jonathan Pershing, David W. Titley, Maura O'Neill, Nancy E. Soderberg, Elliot Diringer, Reed E. Hundt, and Redmon Clark.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Global Warming's Growing Concerns: Impacts on Agriculture and Forestry, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Second Session, June 18, 2009

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  From the statement of Jerry L. Hatfield: "Agriculture is extremely sensitive to climate and weather, and resilience of our production systems to changes in climate occurs by understanding these impacts and their effects. It is also important to realize that U.S. agriculture is diverse and that simple, general statements about the impacts of climate are not possible. Climate change is evidenced by rising temperatures, increasing precipitation and intensity of storms, rising carbon dioxide and ozone levels that will impact agriculture. These changes are not consistent across the United States and may affect some agricultural areas more than others." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Edward J. Markey, F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, John Salazar, Emanuel Cleaver II, Herry Hatfield, Heather Cooley, Tom Troxel, Ford B. West, Johannes Lehmann, and Marsha Blackburn.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Arctic Security Considerations and the U.S. Navy's Roadmap for the Arctic

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  "Arctic sea-ice melting associated with global climate change has caused leaders from the United States and the international community to reconsider the national security implications of the region. Taking into account nearly a century of experience in the Arctic, new national policy, existing strategy, and geopolitical implications of the changing environment, the U.S. Navy has developed an Arctic Roadmap that will guide policy, investment, and action regarding the region. With key themes of improved environmental understanding, informed investments, increased experience, cooperative partnerships, and support for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Arctic Roadmap is meant to ensure Navy readiness and capability and result in recognition of the Navy as a valued partner by the joint, interagency, and international communities."

  Naval War College (U.S.)

  Titley, David W.; St. John, Courtney C.

  2010
• Economic Impacts of Global Warming: Part I - Insurance, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session, May 3, 2007

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  From the opening statement of Edward J. Markey: "The focus of today's hearing is on the potential economic harm from weather-related losses, both insured and uninsured, as our planet heats up from global warming. Over the last 25 years, extreme weather caused 88 percent of the $320 billion in total insured property losses. Since almost everything that is insured, from property, to crops, to human life and health, is susceptible to severe weather, the insurance industry is one of the most sensitive indicators of the economic repercussions of global warming. From a financial perspective the insurance industry is our canary in the climate coal mine. Last week the select committee heard testimony from some of the country's leading scientists that we are fast approaching dangerous climate change. Hurricane expert Dr. Judith Curry testified that globally the number of the most severe storms, Category 4 and 5 hurricanes, has nearly doubled since 1970. Scientists are telling us that in the future global warming will cause even more extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, heat waves and more intense storms and hurricanes. According to testimony we will hear today from the Government Accountability Office, private insurers are increasingly factoring aspects of global warming into the determinations of their overall exposure to catastrophic risk. For many private insurance companies, global warming now means that when determining risk, the past is no longer prologue." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Edward J. Markey, F. James Sensenbrenner, Earl Blumenauer, Greg Walden, Hilda Solis, John Sullivan, Marsha W. Blackburn, Emanuel Cleaver II, John B. Stephenson, Mike Kreidler, Frank Nutter, Jerry McNerney, and John Shadegg.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Protecting U.S. Intellectual Property Overseas: The Joint Strategic Plan and Beyond, Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, July 21, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Howard L. Berman: "Last year the committee held a hearing with witnesses from industry and labor to examine the impact of intellectual property theft on the U.S. economy. Today's hearing will focus on government efforts to stem the problem of piracy. In my district, I have seen firsthand how piracy and counterfeiting impacts not only creativity, but jobs. The lengthy credits at the end of every movie remind us how many people it takes to bring a film to the screen--and there are many who play supporting roles to the projects who don't even appear in the credits. When a movie is pirated, it puts all of those jobs at risk. The ease of the distribution in the case of CDs and DVDs make them an obvious target for piracy, but counterfeiting and IP [intellectual property] theft impact many other industry from pharmaceuticals to auto parts, from clothing to sporting goods. As such, intellectual property is an integral part of many important policy issues, from climate change, to fighting infectious disease in the developing world, to Russia's accession to the WTO [Word Trade Organization]. The geographic scope of intellectual property theft has also grown. While our attention was previously focused on a relatively small number of countries--most notably Russia and China--we have now seen an explosion of piracy and counterfeiting in many nations. And the situation is further exacerbated by Chinese policies like ''indigenous innovation'' which may discriminate against foreign intellectual property holders in favor of their own domestic businesses. Today, piracy and counterfeiting has become so effortless, and enforcement resources spread so thin, that the legitimate marketplace for music and movies is disappearing in countries such as Spain." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Victoria A. Espinel, John T. Morton, Chris Israel, Howard L. Berman, James N. Gianopulos, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, Russ Carnahan, Gerald E. Connolly, Michael E. McMahon and John T. Morton.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Drought, Flooding and Refugees: Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change in the World's Most Vulnerable Nations, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection of the Committee of Foreign Relations, United States Senate, First Session, October 15, 2009

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  From the opening statement of Robert Menendez: "This hearing is about helping vulnerable developing nations adapt to the worst effects of climate change, not helping oil-wealthy nations get a windfall. Both the House climate bill and the Kerry-Boxer bill have funds designed to provide resources for nations who are most vulnerable to climate impacts. Such a fund is important for many reasons. The most obvious is that it is simply the right thing to do. Developed nations have created a planetary problem and we have a duty to help those who are being impacted. But it is also essential to our national security, and it is essential if we expect to achieve an international climate treaty. Unfortunately, it is an issue that I do not think has received enough attention in the United States Senate." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jim Ball, Bob Corker, Kenneth P. Green, Robert Menendez, Peter O'Driscoll, Charles F. Wald, and David Waskow.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Building U.S. Resilience to Global Warming Impacts: Hearing Before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, October 22, 2009

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  From the opening statement of Edward J. Markey: "We all remember the tragic consequences of Hurricane Katrina... Katrina foreshadows the consequences of climate change if we do not make the necessary preparations. Since then, scientists have shown that the warming of our climate system from emissions of heat-trapping gases... is unequivocal. We face not only an increasing number of strong storms, but also many permanent alterations that will affect people throughout the country. Coastal cities like Boston will be at risk of inundation from sea level rise, which is accelerating as our oceans warm and our polar ice caps melt. Alaskan villages are finding the land they call home literally melting out from underneath them as the permafrost thaws. In the West, our shrinking mountain snowpack strains our water resource systems. Throughout this country, our farms are threatened by rising temperatures, water scarcity, and pests. For a projected 2.2 degree (Fahrenheit) rise in temperatures over the next 30 years, we can expect significant declines in the crops that make up the base of our food system. The past is no longer a predictor of the future. We need to develop our resilience in order to safeguard our health, our environment, our economy, and our national security. We need to develop a comprehensive strategy to adapt, conduct world-class climate research, and coordinate federal, state, and local action." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: John Stephenson, Eric Schwaab, Stephen Seidel and Kenneth Green.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Serial No. 111-18: Climate Science in the Political Arena, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, May 20, 2010

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  "The disaster that is the BP oil spill continues to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico. Congress is focused on key questions: What happened and who is responsible? How much oil has spilled and what is the impact? How do we make decisions in the face of uncertainty? We face similar questions when confronted with the looming disaster of climate change caused by carbon pollution. In both instances, lawmakers need to be informed by the best available science as they make decisions and seek clean energy solutions. Today, we are joined by some of the world's foremost climate scientists, including the President of the National Academy of Sciences and a Nobel Prize winning atmospheric chemist. These scientists have been instrumental in informing the clean energy and climate change policy debate. Their work has helped identify the fingerprint of human activity on global warming amongst the background of natural variability. They have provided a risk framework to guide policymakers in the face of evolving science."

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Public Transportation's Role in Responding to Climate Change

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  "The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) collects and analyzes data from across the country on public transportation fuel use, vehicles deployed, rides taken, and other key metrics. These data, taken from the National Transit Database and combined with information from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, provides valuable insight into the impacts of automobile, truck, SUV, and public transportation travel on the production of greenhouse gas emissions. National level data show significant greenhouse gas emission savings by use of public transportation, which offers a low emissions alternative to driving. This paper presents an analysis of the data and frames it in a broader context. It concludes with a description of FTA actions that address climate change. "

  United States. Department of Transportation; United States. Federal Transit Administration

  Hodges, Tina

  2010-01
• Change We Can Fight Over: The Relationship between Arable Land Supply and Substate Conflict

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  "After decades of debate, most natural scientists have now acknowledged that the earth's temperature is rising. These scientists also predict that the environmental consequences of global climate change over the next 20-100 years will be significant. This gradual realization of the existence and environmental impact of global warming has spurred a parallel discussion among national security academics and policymakers about the security consequences of climate change. Roughly speaking, there are two camps in this discussion--one that ominously predicts the potential for global warming to spark violent resource-related conflicts all over the world, and one that views the link between climate change and conflict as ambiguous and unproven. This debate between alarmists and skeptics (of the security consequences of climate change, not of climate change itself) has clear consequences for great power security policy in the coming decades. In recent years the great powers have begun to take slow steps toward the prevention and mitigation of future climate change, but the stark reality is that global warming is already upon us. Thus, policymakers need to know--both now and in the coming decades--whether climate change can be expected to touch off the resource conflicts that some analysts have predicted. If the answer is in the affirmative, then considerably more resources need to be put against the prevention and mitigation of climate change-related violence, and not simply against the prevention and mitigation of global warming itself."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Black, Nathan

  2010
• Situating Climate Security: The Department of Defense's Role in Mitigating Climate Change's Causes and Dealing with its Effects

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  "A new concern is circulating among policymakers, think tanks, and scholars: securing the planet's climate. For those who debate what counts as 'national security,' the question over whether climate change should be framed as a security issue has been argued along well-worn lines. For those who seek a more expansive definition of security, one that reaches beyond military threats, the threat of climate change is another reason why the lines of security need to be re-drawn. For those who see the inclusion of climate change as a threat to the notion of security as the protection of the state in a competitive international system, widening the term to encompass climate change threatens to draw attention away from traditional threats (future peer competitors like China and a resurgent Russia) and the 'new nontraditional' threats (rogue states and transnational terrorism). At the most basic level, the inclusion of environmental threats in a security paradigm risks confusing national security with foreign policy and global politics. As this article will show, however, in many ways this debate has already become obsolete. Since the issuance of the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates, the publication of a bevy of key reports by respected think tanks, and most recently the latest 'Defense Department Quadrennial Defense Review' (QDR) and the 'National Security Strategy (NSS)', climate security has increasingly become recognized as a legitimate object of national security thinking. In this essay we will examine three issues: the emerging threat of climate change as it is currently known through climate change models, the way climate security is increasingly being internalized in the U.S. national security community, and the tasks the DoD can undertake to mitigate the causes of climate change and deal with its effects."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Clausen, Daniel; Clausen, Michael

  2010
• Climate Change and Climate Politics

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  "The essay that follows is based on the introduction to the forthcoming volume titled 'Climate Change and National Security: A Country-Level Analysis', edited by Daniel Moran (Georgetown University Press, 2011), and is reprinted with the permission of the publisher and copyright holder [www.press.georgetown.edu)] The book in turn is based on the revised and expanded proceedings of a conference held at the Naval Postgraduate School in December 2007, and sponsored by the Long-Range Analysis Unit of the National Intelligence Council, to support the preparation of the National Intelligence Assessment on Climate Change presented to the United States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming) in June 2008. This book appraises the intermediate-term security risks that climate change may pose to the United States, its allies, and to regional and global order. It is intended to be a contribution to the growing literature on 'environmental security,' a phrase that encompasses a wide range of policy problems. For many, environmental security is chiefly about addressing the challenges that climate change may present to humanity and its institutions. Security in this context is to be sought through measures designed to mitigate or adapt to changes in the earth's ecology, which may some day make current social and economic practices unsustainable. Others interpret climate change less as a direct threat than as an additional source of stress on the sinews of public life, which may cause fragile governments to fail, or provide new impetus for a range of violent outcomes, ranging from social upheaval to aggressive war."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Moran, Daniel

  2010
• Introduction to the Fall 2010 Issue

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  "This issue of 'Strategic Insights' explores the fascinating nexus of climate and security. While the jury remains out on the ultimate consequences of climate change, and whether the implications of recent warming trends will be as profound as the more pessimistic scenarios have suggested, military planners and security experts have been considering the potential impacts, and devising mitigative measures in case recent trends continue or accelerate. In the far northern reaches of our planet, earlier seasonal ice melts and brief periods of ice-free conditions in the Arctic Ocean have been a reality for several years--forcing Arctic states and peoples to confront a more pressing imminence of climate security challenges than yet experienced in many other parts of the world. In this issue, we consider both the broader issues of climate change and national security--as presented by Daniel Moran in 'Climate Change and Climate Politics' and by Daniel Clausen and Michael Clausen in 'Situating Climate Security: The Department of Defense's Role in Mitigating Climate Change's Causes and Dealing with its Effects'--and also the specific consequences of climate change on the Arctic region--as presented in 'Structural, Environmental, and Political Conditions for Security Policy in the High North Atlantic: The Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland' by Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, and 'Stability and Security in a Post-Arctic World: Toward a Convergence of Indigenous, State and Global Interests at the Top of the World' by Barry S. Zellen."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Leavitt, Sandra R.

  2010
• Stability and Security in a Post-Arctic World: Toward a Convergence of Indigenous, State and Global Interests at the Top of the World

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  "The Arctic region has experienced a rapid transformation during the last few years as unprecedented ice melts caught ice scientists and climatologists by surprise, suggesting that a period of rapid climate change had arrived in the polar region, precipitating earlier and historically unprecedented ice melts--including the first opening of both the Northwest Passage in North America and the Northern Sea Route along the Eurasian Arctic coast. As these extreme changes to the Arctic landscape (transforming an icescape to a navigable maritime domain for part of the year) take place, there has been concern that a race for resources might precipitate a period of state conflict in the region. Increased economic, military and diplomatic activity in the Arctic will bring the long-isolated indigenous peoples of the Far North into closer and more frequent contact with the modern state, testing the new systems of self-governance conceptualized and negotiated in a more static time where traditional conditions of deep freeze had long been the norm. This paper will examine the political modernization of the Inuit and their integration into the political fabric of the modern state through a mosaic of bilateral land claims and self-government processes that more closely bind them to the states that lay sovereign claim to their homeland, and consider how the thawing of the long-frozen Arctic will affect them, and their new relationships with the modern states along the Arctic basin."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Zellen, Barry Scott, 1963-

  2010
• Water Security- National and Global Issues

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  "Potable or clean freshwater availability is crucial to life and economic, environmental, and social systems. The amount of freshwater is finite and makes up approximately 2.5 percent of all water on the Earth. Freshwater supplies are small and randomly distributed, so water resources can become points of conflict. Freshwater availability depends upon precipitation patterns, changing climate, and whether the source of consumed water comes directly from desalination, precipitation, or surface and (or) groundwater. At local to National levels, difficulties in securing potable water sources increase with growing populations and economies. Available water improves living standards and drives urbanization, which increases average water consumption per capita. Commonly, disruptions in sustainable supplies and distribution of potable water and conflicts over water resources become major security issues for Government officials. Disruptions are often influenced by land use, human population, use patterns, technological advances, environmental impacts, management processes and decisions, transnational boundaries, and so forth."

  Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Tindall, James A., 1953-; Campbell, Andrew A.

  2010
• Secure Water Act, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress Second Session, to Receive Testimony on the Bureau of Reclamation's Implementation of the Secure Water Act, Title 9501 of P.L. 111-11, and the Bureau of Reclamation's Watersmart Program, Which Includes the Watersmart Grant Program, the Basin Study Program, and the Title XVI Program, March 16, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Debbie Stabenow: "Today's hearing is an oversight hearing to receive testimony on the Bureau of Reclamation's implementation of the SECURE Water Act and the Bureau of Reclamation's water conservation initiative known as the WaterSMART program. Senator Risch is our ranking member today and will be joining us shortly, and I will turn it over to him for comments and in a moment to our chairman, distinguished chairman whose leadership has brought us the SECURE Water Act. We are very pleased to have Senator Wyden with us this morning as well. We all know that water is a precious resource for all of us, and the legislation, the SECURE Water Act, authored by our chairman, Senator Bingaman, is a very important piece of legislation to protect that resource. This law, enacted last year, expands the tools available to increase water use efficiency, acquire additional water use data, improve water management, and enhance our understanding of climate change impacts on water availability and energy production in the United States. Simulations suggest that water supplies could be significantly affected by climate change over the course of the coming decade. So it is important to try to address these issues right now. The Department of Interior's WaterSMART initiative is designed to tackle the challenges of water issues today." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jeff Bingaman, John Entsminger, Melinda Kassen, Dan keppen, Anthony J. Pack, Debbie Stabenow, and Ron Wyden.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Cyber Vision and Cyber Force Development

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  "Rapid technology advances over the past three decades and the proliferation of computers into weapon systems created a dichotomy of net-centric military superiority and a commensurate reliance on vulnerable technology. The simultaneous depletion of the US computer industrial base and its migration overseas reduced further the cost of net-centricity and increased disproportionately military dependence on foreign technology. Budgetary pressures compounded the slide away from assured government off-the-shelf (GOTS) stand-alone weapons towards affordable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) networked systems. Given this climate of rapid technological advance and global political change, the USAF recognizes the duality of cyberspace as a war-fighting domain as well as a foundational domain. As a war-fighting domain, cyberspace affords irregular adversaries a low-cost option to attack our global interests. As a foundational domain, cyberspace offers our peers an attack vector to negate our superiority in the traditional domains of land, sea, air, and space. By adding cyberspace to its mission statement and standing up a cyberspace command, the USAF took on the challenge to develop and present forces ready to fight in this domain. This recognition of cyber warfare as a revolution in military affairs (RMA) raises fundamental questions on concepts, organization, and technology. Amidst these questions lies the challenge of presenting cyber options to the National Command Authority (NCA) and cyber-ready forces to the combatant commanders."

  Air University (U.S.). Press

  Jabbour, Kamal

  2010
• Structural, Environmental, and Political Conditions for Security Policy in the High North Atlantic: The Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland

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  "Security policy in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland has historically taken place in a nexus of structural, environmental, and political conditions which pose particular challenges for such policy--a situation that continues and which will continue to take place. This article examines these conditions for broad security policy-making and implementation in the region in a historical, current and future perspective. It shows how these three societies have historically addressed and currently address security policy, where the experience of Iceland as the only fully independent state is enlightening. On this basis, the article discusses how these societies can address future developments with regard to climate change and increased self-government in the case of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which is a central, but often overlooked, political development in the region. Security policy here is conceived broadly as covering the exercise of sovereignty, participation in international security orders such as NATO, well-grounded and researched debate and policy-making, law enforcement, intelligence, civil defense, marine resource management, environmental protection, provision of search and rescue, air and sea surveillance, among other issues. This article identifies structural, environmental, and political conditions as well as public administration and finance challenges for security policy in section two 'Conditions and Challenges for Security Policy in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland.'"

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Bertelsen, Rasmus Gjedssø

  2010
• Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey, Admiral Thad Allen, and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner [June 16, 2010]

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  In this June 16, 2010 press briefing, members of the Obama administration comment and answer questions on topics including: new sanctions on Iran, British Petroleum's (BP's) $50 Billion oil spill fund, the ability of local communities to communicate with the federal government regarding oil cleanup, and containing the oil that continues to spew into the Gulf Coast.

  United States. Office of the White House Press Secretary

  2010-01-01
• Geopolitical Implications of Rising Oil Dependence and Global Warming, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session, April 18, 2007

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  From the opening statement of Edward J. Markey: "Our energy policy has compromised our economic freedom, and the American people want action because they know that the price has become much too high. We know that we cannot simply drill our way to energy independence. [...] I have introduced a bill, H.R. 1506, which would require the combined car and light truck fleet to achieve 35 miles per gallon by 2018, which amounts to an average of 4 percent per year improvement, an increase that is mandatory over this first 10 years by ensuring that fuel economy standards keep pace with technological development. By 2022, it would be an increase to 40 miles per gallon. [...] At the beginning of February, the world's top scientists, as part of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, provided a scientific smoking gun that human activities were unequivocally responsible for global warming. Two weeks ago, their second report told us what happens when the climatic bullet hits; the developed world will bear the brunt--the developing world, rather, will bear the brunt of the collateral damage from our historic global warming emissions, but the United States will experience its own self-inflicted wounds, including threats to our national security and military readiness. Today we will hear the first congressional testimony on this critical issue. Generals and admirals who have spent a lifetime on battlefields are telling us that global warming is a major strategic weakness. So today I am introducing the Global Climate Change Security Oversight Act which authorizes a national intelligence estimate to assess the security implications of global warming to the United States and its military." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Edward J. Markey, F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Jay Inslee, John Shadegg, John Larson, Greg Walden, Emanuel Cleaver II, john Hall, Candice Miller, Jerry McNerney, John Sullivan, Hilda Solis, Marsha Blackburn, Gordon R. Sullivan, Richard N. Haass, Carl Pope, Dennis McGinn, and R. James Woolsey.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• National Security Implications of Global Climate Change, Joint Hearing Before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and Subcommittee on Intelligence, Community Management, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Second Session, June 25, 2008

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  From the opening statement of Edward J. Markey: "We find ourselves at a critical moment in history. The impacts of our altered atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels are beginning to manifest themselves in the United States and around the world. Our response to this challenge can be to either unleash a technological revolution that will enhance our national, economic and environmental security or to burden the planet with climatic catastrophe. Whether it is floods in Iowa, cyclones in Burma or drought, starvation and genocide in Darfur, we know that environmental threats underpin many global conflicts and crises, and that global warming will only make matters worse." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Edward J. Markey, Representative (MA); Silvestre Reyes, Representative (TX); Anna Eshoo, Representative (CA); F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Representative (WI); Darrell Edward Issa, Representative (CA); Thomas Fingar, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis, National Intelligence Council; Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Director, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, U.S. Department of Energy; Margaret Beckett, Former Foreign Secretary, United Kingdom; Paul G. Gaffney, President, Monmouth University; Lee Lane, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; and Marlo Lewis, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Kent Hughes Butts, Professor, Center for Strategic Leadership, U.S. Army War College.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Finding Common Ground with a Rising China, Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, June 23, 2010

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  From the opening statement of John F. Kerry: "Today, we are gathered to discuss another important issue, and one that will be with us, in terms of the relationship, throughout this century certainly, probably the single most important relationship that will define a lot of global events over the course of this century, and that is, how we find common ground with a rising China. [...] How the United States, in concert with our friends and allies, responds to China's growing economic might, military capabilities, and political influence will significantly shape the international order of this century. [...] Even as we seek common ground with China, we will never abandon our values. We have to continue to encourage China to adhere to international human norms for rights--human rights, labor rights, political rights--and environmental protection. Based on my own conversations with China's top leaders, I believe that our commitment to these values can actually support China's own long-term efforts to build a harmonious society. And finally, while our companies will inevitably compete in many areas, there are challenges, such as climate change, where our two nations should be collaborating against a shared threat, and where, together, we have the ability to offer leadership to the world." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Carla A. Hills, John F. Kerry, Richard G. Lugar, Russell D. Feingold, Laura Tyson, and Stephen S. Roach.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Policy Options for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session to Receive Testimony on Policy Options for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, December 2, 2009

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  From the opening statement of Jeff Bingaman: "Today the committee will hear testimony on policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over the last 2 months, the committee has held several hearings on global climate change policy, most of which specifically investigated the impacts of cap-and-trade programs on the energy sector and consumers. These hearings, I think, have been useful in educating members of the committee and helping us engage in a dialog about the important components of sound climate policy. At many of the hearings, we've heard a number of alternative policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions mentioned that have been cited as either more or less desirable than cap-and-trade. I've long supported trying to put in place a cap-and-trade mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [...] This hearing evolved as some of the members of the committee asked us to take a step back--Senator Murkowski urged that--and to engage in a more general discussion to evaluate the pros and cons of various policy options. The options that will be discussed today include cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, REC regulation, sector-specific approaches, and technological innovation. It's important to note that these policies are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it will more than likely be necessary to rely on a suite of these policies to ensure that we are effective in addressing global warming." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jeff Bingaman, John Alic, Stephen A. Alterman, Jonathan M. Banks, Byron L. Dorgan, Ted Gayer, Donald Gilligan, David G. Hawkins, Ray Kopp, and Lisa Murkowski.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Future of U.S. International Nuclear Cooperation, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, May 6, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Brad Sherman: "As the world meets in New York to discuss the future of the NPT [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty], concerns about climate change and the unreliable price of fossil fuel have created perhaps a renaissance in nuclear power. In fact, there was a noticeable up tick in interest in nuclear power. Unfortunately, some of this has been in the Middle East where some of the announcements seem to emulate Iran--that is, to announce that the country is basically going to develop nuclear weapons under the transparent pretence of developing nuclear power. Indeed, there is a right in the NPT to the peaceful use of nuclear power under Article 4. Unfortunately, under the interpretation of many, this right extends to the full fuel cycle, to enrichment and reprocessing, providing of course the country is in compliance with its NPT obligations. This would allow many dozens of countries to come right up to the threshold of nuclear weapons with the hope and expectation that they will not cross that threshold. It raises some questions. [...] The current multilateral solution, now approaching consensus at the Nuclear Suppliers Group, is to say that while you may have the right to enrichment and/or reprocessing, no one is required to provide you with the technology to provide such a 'right' and hopefully no one in the Nuclear Suppliers Group will provide such technology unless there is adequate safeguards are met. " Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Vann H. Van Diepen, Leonard S. Spector, James A. Glasgow, and Henry Sokolski.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Future of Nuclear Cooperation, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, May 6, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Brad Sherman: "As the world meets in New York to discuss the future of the NPT [NonProliferation Treaty], concerns about climate change and the unreliable price of fossil fuel have created perhaps a renaissance in nuclear power. In fact, there was a noticeable up tick in interest in nuclear power. Unfortunately, some of this has been in the Middle East where some of the announcements seem to emulate Iran--that is, to announce that the country is basically going to develop nuclear weapons under the transparent pretence of developing nuclear power. Indeed, there is a right in the NPT to the peaceful use of nuclear power under Article 4. Unfortunately, under the interpretation of many, this right extends to the full fuel cycle, to enrichment and reprocessing, providing of course the country is in compliance with its NPT obligations. This would allow many dozens of countries to come right up to the threshold of nuclear weapons with the hope and expectation that they will not cross that threshold. It raises some questions. Are the current safeguard techniques and technologies of the IAE [Institute of Atomic Energy] up to the task? Is enrichment and reprocessing capacity--does that take you so close to nuclear weapons that the final steps could take place more quickly than we could possibly detect? Are certain activities essentially unsafeguardable?" Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Vann H. Van Diepen, Leonard S. Spector, James A. Glasgow, Henry Sokolski, Edward R. Royce, Ted Poe, Diane E. Watson, Gerald E. Connolly, Dana Rohrabacher, and Brad Sherman.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Transatlantic Security in the 21st Century: Do New Threats Require New Approaches? Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, March 17, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Howard L. Berman: "For over four decades after the Second World War, the United States and Europe were focused on confronting the threat posed by the Soviet Union. That threat disappeared with the end of the Cold War, but it was replaced with a much wider, more complex array of security challenges, many of which emanate from outside the Euro-Atlantic region. Do we have the right tools, institutions and approaches to deal with these new threats? That is the subject of our hearing today. In addition to the potential instability in Southeastern Europe, we are confronting the ever-growing likelihood of a nuclear-armed Iran, the menace of al-Qaeda that continues to spread around the world, a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We also need to determine how to deal collectively with concerns such as energy security, sea piracy and climate change. The existing transatlantic and European institutions--such as NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, and the European Union--have done a remarkable job building peace and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic zone for many decades. But they are now re-evaluating their roles and capabilities to ensure that they can confront the challenges of the 21st century as effectively as possible." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Thomas Graham, Wolfgang Ishinger, Sally McNamara, and Dmitri Trenin.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Transparency in Environmental Protection and Climate Change in China, Roundtable Before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, April 1, 2010

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  This is the April 1, 2010 roundtable "Transparency in Environmental Protection and Climate Change in China" held before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). From the opening statement of Charlotte Oldham-Moore: "The CECC, today, has convened a panel of experts who will discuss government transparency in the areas of environmental protection and climate change in China. China has stated commitments to improve access to environmental and climate change data. These commitments include China's passage of the Open Government Information regulations in 2008, its revision of the People's Republic of China's statistics law in 2009, and its acceptance of the Copenhagen Accord in December 2009. The question before us is whether there are mechanisms in place that encourage transparency so that one can determine whether China is indeed meeting its stated commitments." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Anna Brettell, Barbara Finamore, David Gordon, Deborah Seligsohn, and Michael Wara.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Hearing to Review the Potential Economic Impacts of Climate Change on the Farm Sector, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, December 2, 2009

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  From the opening statement of Tim Holden: "Today, our witnesses will provide testimony on the impacts of climate change on the farm sector, and tomorrow's panel will discuss the cost and benefits of agriculture offsets. The intent of these hearings is not to cover all issues related to climate change, but to cut through the talking points and rhetoric used to distort the conversation to suit special interests. Over the next 2 days we will hear testimony from researchers with different areas of expertise, backgrounds, and perspectives to find out what climate change and legislation related to climate change really means for agriculture." The hearing also discusses the impact of climate change on matters of food security as related to national security interests. Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: John A. Boccieri, Bob Goodlatte, Tim Holden, Robert E. Latta, Collin C. Peterson, Adrian Smith, Timothy J. Walz, Joseph Glauber, Joe L. Outlaw, Patrick Westhoff, John M. Antle, Judith "Jude" L. Capper, Richard C. Pottorff, Ford B. West, and the National Oilseed Processors Association.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• Not Going Away: America's Energy Security, Jobs and Climate Challenges, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Energy, Independence and Global Warming, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, December 1, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Edward J. Markey: "The national security threats from climate change are not going away. During the first select committee hearing, we discussed the drought-influenced Somali conflict that led to Black Hawk down. A warming world exacerbated a military hotspot. This September, we hosted the Pakistani ambassador to discuss his country's devastating floods. He discussed how his country diverted resources like helicopters away from fighting Al Qaeda to assist in the flood response. An increasingly destabilized climate will invariably lead to more of these destabilizing geopolitical events. The economic security threats stemming from America's lack of an energy plan are not going away. China is pushing ahead with clean energy investment along with other emerging technologies to capture and store carbon from coal. Twice as much money was invested in clean energy in China as was invested by the United States last year. As we heard from the private investment community, this move by China will attract trillions in private capital money that could be invested in jobs here at home in the United States. And China is not alone. Germany, Japan, South Korea, and other countries recognize that dominating the trillion dollar market of tomorrow requires foresight and public investment today." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Edward J. Markey, F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., John Hall, Marsha Blackburn, Wesley K. Clark, Dennis McGinn, Peter Gleick, Richard L. Kauffman, Kenneth Green, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Kenneth Green.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2010
• U.S. Climate Action Report 2010: Fifth National Communication of the United States of America under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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  "This 2010 CAR [Climate Action Report], submitted as a formal national communication, in accordance with Articles 4 and 12 of the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change], documents the actions the United States is taking to address climate change. This review accounts for current and proposed activities up to 2010. It explains how U.S. social, economic, and geographic circumstances affect U.S. GHG [Greenhouse Gas] emissions, summarizes U.S. GHG emission trends from 1990 through 2008, identifies existing and planned U.S. policies and measures to reduce GHGs, and reports, wherever possible, measurable and verifiable emission reduction estimates for those policies and measures. The report also indicates future trends for U.S. GHG emissions, outlines the impacts of climate change on the United States and the adaptation measures the nation is taking to address those impacts, provides information on climate-related financial resources and technology transfer, details U.S. research and systematic observation efforts, and describes U.S. climate education, training, and outreach initiatives. The activities in this report outline a set of initiatives in an ambitious, sustained effort that will be required to fully address climate change. The United States, in close cooperation with other nations of the world, is ready to build on its actions to date and assume a leadership role in this effort. The United States will continue to vigorously develop and build on its domestic and international efforts in coming months and years."

  United States. Department of State. Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

  2010-01