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Mr. TED LIEU of California. Absolutely. That is why I am very pleased and proud that the University of California system became the first, and currently the only, university to be a part of Bill Gates' breakthrough energy fund.
We are taking some great steps in California to mitigate carbon pollution. As you know, California passed the Global Warming Solutions Act last decade, and it is one of the strongest laws in the world. One of the first bills I authored seeks to replicate California's laws nationwide.
It is an important issue for millennials because it is going to directly affect you in the coming decades. It is going to affect our children and grandchildren. So we need to make sure that we mitigate carbon pollution.
All of us are busy. We all deal with a thousand issues, but carbon pollution is the one issue that can kill humanity as a species if we don't do anything about it.
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Mr. TED LIEU of California. When California passed our landmark Global Warming Solutions Act, we had huge investments in green energy actually come into the State. California has now been a leader in green technology in terms of solar, in terms of biofuels and other technologies.
If you want to do that, people do come to California. It really has helped to jump-start parts of our community. I agree with Representative Boyle. It is a false choice between the economy and climate mitigation. You can do both.
I also do want to note that it is not just young people who realize this. You have also now organizations that you traditionally would not call progressive coming on board, saying that carbon pollution is a problem. You have got the Catholic Church saying that we need to address climate change now. You have got the U.S. military.
One of the great things about our military is it is exceptional, it is amazing, because it actually deals with facts. The U.S. military takes the world as it is, not as they think it should be or in some fantasyland. When the U.S. military looked at the science and the facts, they said that this is a national security problem.
We are having more severe weather events. We are going to have food shortages in other parts of the world causing migrations, causing conflicts. In terms of the U.S. military's own fuel use, it is very difficult to transport a lot of fuel over long distances. They are actually looking at renewables, at solar, at other renewable sources.
Lastly, let me just say, as we stand here today, one of the world's largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, believes in climate change. They believe it is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and they support a price on carbon. Now, we wish it didn't take them over three decades to come to this position, but that is their position today.
Since they don't say it very loudly, I am going to say it very loudly. ExxonMobil believes in climate change. For those who don't, you may want to think what does that oil company know that you don't.
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Mr. TED LIEU of California. Representative Swalwell, that is a great point you make. Whether you call it science, facts, or measurements, you can measure climate change. So we know that last year was the hottest year in recorded history, only to be outdone by the first 6 months of this year, only to be outdone again, as Representative Boyle mentioned, by November--last month. We know that ocean levels have risen 8 inches in about the last century, and just since 1992, they have risen about 3 inches.
I love my district, which stretches from Malibu, south through Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, and along the coast, and I don't want my constituents all moving to Representative Gallego's district because they are getting flooded.
It is important that we look at this. The projections show that by 2050, large parts of American coastal areas will be at risk of flooding--and that is a huge problem. So we have to not only pay attention to that as a national security interest, but just for people to live their normal lives. And Mother Nature does not discriminate.
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Mr. TED LIEU of California. I am very honored to have Los Angeles Air Force Base in my district. It was the first base to actually go green in terms of its vehicles. So all the vehicles the L.A. Air Force Base uses on the government side are energy-efficient electric vehicles. They are the first large institution to develop a vehicle-to-grid program where you actually plug in the vehicle and it gives electricity back to the grid when the grid needs it. If you can get that widespread, that would be a game changer across America. So the military is very focused on this issue.
Again, what makes America an exceptional country--one of the best in the world--is we actually rely on facts and science and measurements. Ninety-seven percent of scientists looking at this issue have said that climate change is real, it is largely caused by humans, and we need to do something about it or else we are going to be in a great world of hurt.
If 9 out of 10 doctors said your child shows the symptoms of diabetes, would you keep feeding your child Snickers bars? You would be crazy if you do that. You would actually go and seek treatment. It makes no sense for folks to believe in doctors and science and math and technology and then, on this one narrow issue of carbon pollution, simply for ideological reasons, say we are not going to trust any science or facts or measurements.
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Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mother Nature does not discriminate. Whether you are 20 years old, a Republican or Democrat or a member of the Green Party, the laws of physics and the laws of chemistry do not negotiate.
We are now in a danger zone when it comes to carbon pollution. If we don't act quickly to reduce carbon pollution, in the coming decades we are going to be in a world of hurt. We are going to have far more extreme weather events, far more national security issues.
So, working together, it is my hope that we can pass strong legislation through this Congress, and I believe we will because, in a democracy, the side with the facts eventually wins.
Thank you, Representative Swalwell, for having this terrific Future Forum event on the floor today.
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