I know uh you haven't been here the whole time, but many sanders have been speaking about climate change and I know that in your the presiding officer state um, we see that in glacier National Park which I think uh tells it all, you have a National Park uh created around glaciers in their disappearing rapidly. But I come to the floor today. First of all to thank uh sheldon whitehouse for his remarkable leadership on the issue of climate change His weekly wake up calls features. I think, of inspired a lot of us, um. They articles has covered uh he is a his effort on this. This one titled, a climate wake up for the two hundredth time and he spend down here uh religious Lee taking on this issue and in this article, one of the major leaders in the environmental movement of said about sheldon speeches, speeches, his speeches have been critically Important and drawing attention to the need for climate action, um she also said demand for climate action is only growing and certainly we give him credit for his leadership in that effort. Very, very true. I remember a traveling with sheldon whitehouse to Paris uh when all of us were very much enthused to see the world come together and sign the Paris climate agreement and we were all very excited thinking Stafford been going on for 40 years and here the the countries in the world we're. Finally getting together and I watched a sheldon and in making those arguments over there. He was always the argued he always argue this case persuasively and he wins converts easily so we all are here to thank him for his leadership and I am particular I would also like to talk about climate change, its impact on the southwest and where we're headed in my home state of Mexico and the greater southwest climate change is here and now I wanna talk about that impact in the southwest which is severe. My home state of new Mexico is right in the Bowl side. Our nation, our Earth cannot afford for us to sit back and do nothing the next three years but this is precisely what's happening under this administration and this Congress, our executive and legislative Inches are not only sitting on their hands in the face of climate change disruption and devastation. They are aggressively holding all progress. We are making. I was so discouraged when I saw the administrator of the environmental protection agency take down a climate change website that had gone from my Republican ministrations to a Democratic administration that have been going on. I think, for almost 10 years this was covered in the Washington post and the administrator On tape, administrator, pruitt on taking office took it down and said all we're going to updated well here we are more than a year. Um and if you try to look at that website, it just says we're in the process of updating it. I don't think we're ever gonna see it again, would be my guess. Let's look at some of the reasons um how the progress is being uh halted here. There are number of reasons for this, but I think the biggest and most in city us is Money billions of dollars in campaign contributions, the President and congressional majority are delaying suspending and stopping policies and programs that come back climate change because of the dark money in politics or link gas coal power companies and other special interest feed their campaign and pac offers while the clear public interest is ignored, we must reform our camp Pain, finance system or our climate and the American people will pay a greater and greater price and sheldon whitehouse has made a contribution. There with his book capture where he talks a lot about this dark money in depth and I would it say that's another uh piece of scholarship that really adds to what's happening on this campaign, finance front while the President his administrator and it's interior Secretary are openly hostile to climate change, science Career government scientist and professionals are still hard at work, doing their jobs. Evaluating climate impacts. Last November, the us global climate change, research program consisting of 13 federal agencies issued volume. One of the fourth National climate assessment. It is the most of for a taste of federal government resource on climate change. It concludes and I quote here Air this period is now the warmest in the history of modern civilization with record breaking climate related weather extremes and human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions are the extremely likely dominant cause pretty strong statement from the scientists with climate change. The southwest is expected to get hotter and much drier, especially in the southern half of the region in the last eighteen years and Go as seen one reprieve from drive and the trend is unmistakable. We're seeing less snowpack earlier melting and less run off even when we do get snow, new research shows we're getting less run off from it are scarce. Water resources are even more strained. Here's, a draft of new Mexico from just last week March, sixth virtually entire state faces dryer Auditions and you can see here we're talking about the northern part of the state with extreme dry mouth. Most of the Middle and northern part of the state in severe drive and the southern part of the state and moderate drought sold virtually the entire state of new Mexico in a very serious drought situation in fact, some experts are saying we need to stop thinking about this phenomenon as a drive, but instead is a Dry region becoming becoming permanently, dryer. This is a direct threat to our way of life in new Mexico and the southwest. Now elephant. Butte reservoir is our biggest reservoir in the Mexico it's was built. Uh close to a hundred years ago, um for flood control for irrigation it's supply comes from the real Grand. Our largest River in the Mexico and as we know it 19 hundred mile River that flows through several States to the border for Uh close to a thousand miles or more and flows into the Gulf of Mexico, but for the decade ending 20 10 on the real gram flows in the real Grand decrease. 23 percent almost one quarter from the twentieth century average. Here are the photos of elephant butte reservoir from 19 94 and 20 13. Now the These are photos that were taken from a saddle like this is this top photo. Is the 19 94 and you can see what a remarkable reservoir and how a deep and extended that reservoir ears and now you jump forward about 20 years here's elephant. Butte reservoir in 20 13 and and look picture says a thousand words The reservoir rapidly rapidly disappearing. You can see the dramatic decrease in supply over that short time our farmers and ranchers depend on this supply and they are struggling. This year. The snow pack in the upper real Grand, is have of what it should be and that will force the reservoir even lower across the southwest the average annual temperature Has increased about one point five degrees fahrenheit the last decade from 22001 to 20 10 was the warmest in over a century and now new Mexico is really feeling the heat we are the sixth fastest warming state in the nation since 19 70 our annual average temperature increased about point six degrees per decade or about two point seven degree He's over 45 years and it's not over every January temperatures are projected to rise. Three point five to eight point five degrees by 20 100 difficult to control wildfires have multiplied because of dry conditions killing trees and other vegetation threatening lives, destroying homes costing billions of dollars. New Mexico experience it's largest wildfire in 20 12 the White water ball the complex Fire that burned almost 200 and 90000 acres the fire burned in the southwestern part of the state, but cause air pollution. Hundreds of miles away in las cruces to the East and Santa fe in the northeast agriculture is a maine state for the southwest economy. We produce more than half of the nation's high value specialty crops and crop development is threaten by warming and extreme weather events like wise another key Economic sector, tourism and recreation is threatened by reduce stream flow and a shorter snow season. Ski Santa fe used to always open Thanksgiving weekend that hardly ever happens anymore reduce snow and higher temperatures have been an economic disaster for the slopes. All over new Mexico the southwest a hundred and eighty two federally recognized tribes are particularly vulnerable to climate changes, such as High temperature strauss and severe storms tribes may lose traditional foods, medicines and water supplies. Similarly, our border communities are in greater jeopardy because they don't have the financial resources to protect against climate change impacts. They are vulnerable to health and safety risk, like pollution, erosion and flooding the President and he Is administration of taking aim and federal programs that would address all these impacts to my state in the South West. The President, unilaterally withdrew from the Paris agreement epa put the clean power plan on hold Secretary. Think he is done all I can to whole messing waste prevention rule public lands are open for coal and oil and gas drilling president's budget slash climate science funding Me and the list goes on and on this is not what the American people want. They believe science, they understand that human activity is causing climate change and they want robust policies in response climate change presents the greatest threat. Our nation and world now confront it is the moral test of our age the moral test of our age. We will be judge by future generations by how we respond now we all went to our children Um our Grand children and beyond to meet this challenge, head on, I call upon, on my colleagues across the aisle, to listen to the science and the American people and work with us to take action. I mister President, I would at this point of the floor and and and I believe, a senator whitehouse, is calling can senior senator from rhode island is here to move next. This Friday And Center from rhode island. Thank this President, thank you to offer is timely remarks and it's great leadership and I rising to add my voice to his voice and some of the other of my colleagues in calling attention to the growing threat of climate change and the courage the Center to take meaningful action. First, let me join all of my colleagues and recognizing you thinking my car