MONTHLY NEWSLETTER MAY 2018
Woods Hole Research Center I went to Congress and found consensus Dr. Philip B. Duffy President & Executive Director
As many of you know, last week I testified at a hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology – supposedly a discussion of technologies to address climate change.
Having seen hearings of this committee before, I was not surprised that Republican members devoted their time to trying to cast doubt and sow confusion about the reality of climate change, its causes and consequences. At least one member claimed repeatedly that there’s great uncertainty and debate about the human role in climate change, even within the scientific community. This of course is simply false. The best scientific estimate is that humans caused essentially all of the warming observed over that past 60 years or so. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) contributed the helpful suggestions that the main cause of sea level rise is erosion (not even close), and that warming will make the Antarctic ice sheet grow larger (it’s shrinking). These claims are now infamous as a result of extensive negative media attention.
Many observers, myself included, were surprised that the two Republican-called witnesses do accept the human role in climate change and support action to address the problem. (It is of course sad that this should be remarkable.) This common ground provided the basis for some constructive moments during the hearing – with representatives and witnesses agreeing on the need for more clean energy, and more research funding.
Instead of sparring over unscientific or misleading contentions made by some of the members, I wish we could have spent more time discussing the nominal subject of the hearing: the role of technology in addressing climate change. In my oral and written
testimony I emphasized that the need for these technologies presents opportunities for leadership on the part of the U.S. research and business communities. I fondly hope and fervently pray that the federal government will help our universities, research labs, and corporations to take advantage of these opportunities and profit from them, while helping to address a major global challenge. It saddens me to realize that if we don’t do this, someone else will—quite possibly one of our economic rivals. So what good has come from this? First, I understand that Rep. Brooks’ original theories about sea level rise have not played well in his district. I hope that this will motivate him and other members to have a more serious discussion next time. Second, I’ve invited a Republican member of the committee to visit WHRC, and he seems interested in doing that. An opportunity for rapprochement! Finally, I have opened a dialog (trialog?) with the other two witnesses. We’re discovering that while we agree on certain basic premises, there’s a lot we don’t agree on, particularly the need for immediate and decisive action to slow climate change. Still, we’re talking. I am proud to have had the opportunity to represent the scientific community and WHRC in particular in this forum. We can hope that future hearings may be more evidence-based and constructive. Thanks as always for your interest and support.
WHRC is an independent research institute where scientists investigate the causes and effects of climate change to identify and implement opportunities for conservation, restoration and economic development around the world. In June 2017, WHRC was ranked as the top independent climate change think tank in the world for the fourth year in a row. Learn more at www.whrc.org.