8/3/2019 Climate Change Letter to Upton/Whitfield from Waxman/Rush 10.28.11

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FRED UPTON. M ICHIGANCHAIRMAN

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

HENRY A. WAXMAN . CALIFORNIRANKING MEMBER

(!Congress of tbe Wniteb Ti)ouse of l\epresentatibes

COMMITIEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE2125 R AYBURN H OUSE O FFICE B UILDINGW ASHINGTON, DC 20515- 6115

The Honorable Fred UptonChairmanEnergy and Commerce Commit1eeU.S. House of Representatives2 125 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515The Honorable Ed WhitfieldChairmanSubcommit1ee on Energy and PowerU.S. House of Representatives2 125 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515

Majority (202) 225-2927Minority (202)225-3641

October 28, 20 I I

Dear Chairman Upton and Chairman Whitfield:We are writing to request that you hold a hearing on climate change science to examinean impOltant new analysis by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project. I This analys is,

led by Richard Muller, a prominent climate skeptic, examined more than 1.6 billion temperaturemeasurements to determine if climate change is occurring. As Mr. Mu ller wrote in the WallSl ree l Journal, hi s team found that "g lobal warming is real. ,,2

Climate deniers have challenged the existence of climate change by alleging that the vastamount of scientifi c data showing the warming of the planet is biased. This new assessment bythe Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project addresses this critic ism. The study analyzed thesurface temperature record by using over 39,000 unique monitoring sta tions, more th an fivetimes th e number of sta tions used by other sc ienti sts. Mr. Muller 's team found that risingtemperatures could not be explained away by an urban "heat island" effect because it does not

I Berkeley Earth Surface Temperalllre, A New Assessment o/Global Warming (20 I I) (onl ine athttp://berkeleyem1h orglst udy. php).2 The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism, The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 21, 20 II ) (online athttp://online.wsj.com/art ic leiSB I000 1424052970204422404576594872796327348 .hun I).

8/3/2019 Climate Change Letter to Upton/Whitfield from Waxman/Rush 10.28.11

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The Honorable Fred UptonThe Honorable Ed WhitfieldOctober 28, 20 I IPage 2contribute significa ntly to the average land temperature rise 3 Hi s team found that there are twiceas many monitoring stations that reco rd ed warming as cooling, a sure sign of global warming .And hi s team fo und that hi gh-quality and poor-quality monitoring stations both reported similarwarming trends, di sputing the idea that warming trends could be attributed to the incl usion ofdata from unre liable monitors 4

It is important for our Committee to hear from Mr. Mu ller because more than ha lf themembers of the Comminee reject the scientific find ing that climate change is occurring. At theSubcomminee's first hearing on the subject of climate change, Senator James Inhofe to ld theSubcomm inee that he believes climate change is a hoax."; At a subcomminee mark-up on a billto block EPA from regu lating po llutants that cause climate change, Chairman Eme ritus JoeBarton stated, the science is not sen led and the science is actua lly going the other way."Another Republican member, Rep. Steve Scalise, asse rted that that "the science is not senled .,,6Rep. Michael Burgess of our Co mminee has said, "My opinion, for what it 's worth, is thescience behind globa l tempera ture is not settled.,,7 When Rep. Waxman offe red an amendme nton the House floor that affirmed that "c1imate change is occurring, is caused largely by humanact iviti es. and poses signifi cant ri sks for public health and welfare; ' every Republican memberof the Commi nee - and all but one of the Republican member orthe House - voted to reject thisscientific fin ding8

According to the eminent scientific journal Na illre, members of our Comminee havetaken positiuns un climate change that are "fundame ntal ly anti-science" and the resu lt of "wi llfulignorance;' making it "h ard to escape the conclusion that the U.S. Congress has entered theintellectual wi Iderness. ,9

3 Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature, Inf/uence ofUrban /-leming onlhe Global Tempermure Land A,'erage Using/lural Siles Idelllijiedfrolll MODIS C/assijicaliolls (OCI. 20 11 ) (online al hnp :llberkeleyearth.orglresollrccs.php).-I The Case Against Globa l-Wa rming Skepticism, The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 2 1, 20 11 ) (online athttp://on line.wsj.co m/art icle/S B I 000 1424052970204422404576594872796327348 .hlml ).j I-Iollse Subco mmittee on Energy and Powe r, Hem'ing 011 f-I. R. 910, The Energy Tax PreveJII;OJl ! leI ol2011, 11 2111Congo (Feb. 9, 20 II ).6 HOlse Co mmittee on Energy and Co mm erce, iHarklip 011 HR . 910, The En ergy Tax Pr evelllioJ1 ACI 0[ 2011 , 11 2t hCongo (Mar. 15,20 II ).1 Stalcment of Co ngressman M ichael Bur gess, Climme Sciellce and EPA 's Greenhouse Gas Regula/ions, HearingBeforc the Subco mmittee on Energy and Power , CO lllmittee on Energy and CO lllme rce , U.S. I-louse ofRepresentati ves , I 12th Congo (Mar. 8, 20 11).

8 U.S. House of Represenl ati ves, Ro ll Ca ll Vote on Agreeing to the Waxman ofCa li forn ia Amendment NO.6 for I-I .R. 9 10, (Apr. 6, 20 11 ) (184 yeas, 240 nays).9 Imo Ignorance: VOle 10 overlurll all asp ect of clima/e science marks a wonyillg Irel1d ill US Congress. Natu re(Ma r. 16, 20 I I ) (on line al hnp :/Iwww .nalll rc.com/nalure/jolirnal/v471 /n7338/ ru 11/4 7 1265b.hlml ).

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The Honorable Fred UptonThe Honorable Ed WhitfieldOctober 28, 20 I IPage 3

The threa t from climate change is too grave to allow partisan ideology to trump science.Over the past year, we have expe rienced some of the worst weather in our hi story, witheconomic losses over $35 billion. lo The record snowfall known as the Groundhog Day Blizza rdin the Upper Midwest resulted in 36 deaths and over $1.8 billion in total losses. I I When thesnow me lted, the Mississippi River and tributaries reached record crests, Oooding huge swath s ofMissouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana and caus ing billions in damageto farmland , homes, and infrastructure.12 Hot and dry conditions have helped wildfires burn theirway across the Southwest. The wildfires in Texas this year have been among the worst in thestate 's history, burning more than a million acres. I ) One hi storic dust storm in Phoenix was onemile high, 100 miles wide, and ran for 150 miles before dissipating. 14 These are exactly thekinds of extreme weather conditions that scientists have been warning wi ll become morefrequent and more severe as the planet warms.

Climate denial is perilous. That is why we urge you to hold hearings on the importantwork of Mr. Muller and his team. Such a hearing would help members understand the urgentneed for ac tion and the se rious consequences of inac tion . It could also help lay the founda tionfor constructive work in the Committee on this critical threat.Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Hemy A. WaxmanRanking Member

Sincerely,

Ranking MemberSubcommittee on Energy and Power

10 Na tional Oceanic and Atmo spheric Adm in istration , NOAA's NaliollollVemher Service taking aCliol11O build a'Wearher-ready' narion (Aug. 17, 20 I I) (online alhnp :llwww.noaancws.noaa.gov/stories20 11 1201108 17_wea therready.html).II Nat ional Climatic Da ta Ce nter, Billion Dollar Us . Weather/Climate Disasters (June 17,20 11 ) (on line athttp: //www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/repOJi s/b illionz.html).12 lei.13 Nalional Climalic Dala Cenler, Slar e o/ Ihe Clilllare: Wildfires (OC I. 7, 2011) (online alhttp: //www ncdc.l1oaa.gov/sotC/ fi re).14 Na tional Weather Service Forecast Office, A-Iajor Dust Storm A;foves Through Ar i:oJ1(1 (Ju l. 7, 20 I I) (online athttp://www.wrh.noaa .gov/psr/pns/20 1 I/Jul ylDustStorm.php).