is to be the most perfect example of the unity of a human family that the world has ever seen. and the politics of the people on the stage and of this report, that is the promise we are seeking. the promise that united white indentured servants and black slaves to rebel 351 years ago in virginia and united blacks and whites to come together and freedom summer 50 years ago in mississippi. and today, blacks and whites and latinos and asians can come together for a true south. a south in which there is absolute democracy for all of us. thank you and god bless. >> the ceo of general motors mary barra testified this week.

they testified before the harlow's -- house energy sub commerce -- subcommittee. we will show you the hearing tomorrow on c-span. president obama recently awarded the medal of honor to bring corporal william corporal -- carpenter. he was injured in afghanistan in 2010. he covered a grenade with his body and order to save the life of a fellow marine. after the ceremony, he spoke briefly with reporters. ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and mrs. michelle obama. accompanied by corporal william kyle carpenter. ♪ ♪ >> if you would, please write with me -- pray with me. we posit the beginning of this historic event to ask for your presence in this place. move your spirit to

among us gathered. that we would be reminded of the freedoms that many like kyle carpenter have sacrificed for. no of our deep appreciation for this marine's faithfulness. that when faced with that day of self-preservation or self-sacrifice, he responded the dollar to safeguard life of his friend. as the highest award for such selflessness and courage is draped around his neck, and circle him with the depth of your steadfast love.

sanctify his innermost and unspoken thoughts. so he -- as he carries the weight of the honor, he will be enabled and emboldened to speak on behalf of and encourage those whose untold sacrifices and humble services need his firm and compassionate voices. prayer all those who remain in harm's way. and pray your abiding grace on the families and friends of marines, sailors, airmen, and coast guardsmen who have given their life to service to this country. the still your wisdom on those who served this nation. may us americans yield to your divine guidance. to this example of these heroes. god bless america.

amen. thank you, everybody. please be seated. on behalf of michelle and myself, welcome to the white house. the man you see before me today, corporal william carpenter, should not be alive today. hand grenades- are one of the most awful weapons of war. they are only one pound, but they are packed with anti--- t nt. if one lands nearby, you have seconds to seek cover. if it detonates, its fragments shoot out in every direction. spray of shrapnel can inflict devastating injuries. up close, it is almost certain

death. we are here because this man, this united states marine, faced down that terrible explosive power. that unforgiving force. with his own body, willingly and deliberately. to protect a fellow marine. when i grenade exploded, his injuries were called catastrophic. it seemed that he was going to die. while being treated, he went into cardiac arrest and three times he flatlined. three times doctors brought him back. along with his parents, we call his survival our miracle. we than god they did it.

saved yourt only brother in arms, you displayed a herbalism in the blink of an eye that will inspire for in theions -- heroism blink of an eye that will inspire generations. we have met before during his long recovery at walter reed. he and some of our other wooded warriors came to the white house to celebrate the world series champions, the st. louis cardinals. i am a white sox fan. kyle likes the braves. it was a tough day for both of us. [laughter] after the ceremony, michelle and i had the chance to meet kyle. at the time, he was still undergoing surgery. but he was up and he was walking and he was working his way

toward being independent again, toward the man that you see here today. kyle, the main message we want to send is, welcome back. we are proud to have you here. we spent some time with kyle and his wonderful family. anyone who has had a chance to get to know this young man knows you are not going to get a better example of what you want in an american or a murdering. hepite all of the attention, is still the same humble guy from south carolina. i guess today it is only something.590 [laughter] these days he is also the university of south carolina. is just a normal college student, he says.

you notice that he does not hide his cars. he is proud of it. this.ls me i am quoting him -- he said that the girls kind of like them. [laughter] he is working an angle on this thing. [laughter] i wasn't sure what i was supposed to say about that, but there is a quote there. i want to welcome those who made this man the marine that he is. his father, jim. his lovely mom, robin. and his brothers, one of whom will be joining kyle at south carolina. one.e have got another we also have his marine brothers

who served with him in afghanistan and through his recovery. i also want to welcome the members of the medal of honor society. kyle and his fellow marines served during a search of forces that i ordered early in my presidency. their mission was to drive the taliban out of their strongholds and protect afghan people and give them a chance to reclaim their communities. pushing their way across open fields and muddy pack's.nd bearing heavy in one small village, they turned a dusty compound at their gaveand the insurgents their answer with automatic fire. that morning, kyle said the alarm clock was aka 47 fire.

some of the men were by their bunks. makeshift mud centers or planning today for patrol. bulk on the roof, two -- two on the roof manned their posts. the compound started to take fire. seeking cover, they lay down low on their backs behind sandbags. then the grenade landed with a thud. the pin had been pulled. it was about to explode. kyle has no memory of what happened next. what we do know is that they were on that rooftop. he was not just with a fellow marine. he was with his best friend. they had met in training. they patrol together day and night.

a friendship orchard in fire. he was his point man and that he loved him like a brother. when the grenade landed, another marine looked up and saw it happen. he tried to stand pretty lunch toward that grenade. he disappeared into the blast. keep in mind at the time, he was just 21. in that instant, he fulfill those words of scripture, ready life for hisis friends. they found kyle lying facedown directly over the blast area. his helmet was riddled with holes and his gear was melted. part of his best was blown away. one of the doctors who treated him said that he was literally head down tohis

his feet. for a moment, he was still conscious. see.uld not he remembers everything went white. even then, his thoughts were not of himself. one of the marines and was there remembers how he kept asking one question -- whether nick was ok. away, herength drained thought the end was coming. his last thought was to make peace with god. andked for his forgiveness tried to make the best and most of my last few seconds hereunder. the medal of honor is presented for gallantry on the battlefield . but today we also recognized him for his valor cents and hard fight to recover. eventually, he woke up.

after five weeks in a coma. what do to consider what he has in do or just to stand here today. grueling rehabilitation. brain surgery to remove shrapnel from his head. lung.ing a collapsed multiple skin grafts. new prostatic i. a new job. new t. and one heck of a smile. -- new teeth. and one heck of a smile. [laughter] but he gives credit elsewhere. backid the doctors put him together well. so many of ourr wounded warriors are alive not just because of the remarkable advances in technology, but

primarily because of extraordinary dedication and skill of our military and our v8 medical professionals. we need to keep to everything we can and the power to give our wounded warriors of those who treat them the support that they need. i think it is a wonderful the doctorsto ask and the rest of his medical teams who worked please stand. i see their amazing work every time i visit the best, every time i visit all to read. it is pretty rare we have got a job for you know that you are doing gods work -- god's work every single day. [applause] thank you.

and you for the miracles that you work for our wounded troops and veterans. kyle says he will wear this medal for all who serve and for those who did not take it back and for those who still stop. he also honored to members of his team made ultimate sacrifice. .yle's friends thethoughts are also with marines that kyle saved that day. nick opportunity to meet nearly two years after the blast. nick also suffered wounds. as a result dramatic brain injury, he could not speak for more than a year. he also endured multiple surgeries. his recovery in 10 years. he lives at home with his family in plymouth, massachusetts where he is watching this ceremony.

nick, on behalf of all of us, i want you to know we honor your sacrifice as well. your perseverance is an inspiration. just as kyle was there for you, our nation will be there for you and your family as you grow stronger in the years ahead. if any of our wounded warriors seek an example, -- let me amend that -- if any american seeks the model of the strength and resilience that defined us as a newest including this 9/11 generation, i want you to consider kyle. after everything he has been snowboards,skis, he he has jumped from a plane with a parachute thankfully, trek through a six mile mud run, completed the marine marathon, says he wants to do a triathlon, he is a motivational speaker,

and advocate for his fellow wounded warriors. he is thinking about majoring in psychology so he can use his own experiences to help others. he got stellar grades. by the way, he's only 24. he says he's just getting started. in other words, he is a shining example of what our nation needs . better to come home and use their incredible skills and talent to keep our country strong. we could all learn from his example. ofprepared for the reading the citation. i would like to quote with his own words. a message i think for every american. i took a life-changing event to at me to -- it took life-changing event to get me to appreciate the life i have been blessed with. enjoy every day to the fullest. don't take life too seriously. always try to make it count.

appreciate the small things. be kind to others. let the ones you love know that you love them and when things get hard, there is the baker plan and you will be stronger for it -- bigger plan and you'll be stronger for. pretty good message. shouldl kyle carpenter not be alive today, but the fact that he is gives us reason to trust there is indeed a bigger plan. and alls you, kyle, those who serve and protect the precious an amazing life that we are blessed with. may god continue to bless and keep strong the united states of america. [applause] >> the president of the united

states come in the name of the congress, takes pleasure in presenting the medal of honor to ,ance corporal kyle carpenter united states marine corps, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an automatic rifle man with company f, second battalion, ninth marine, first marine expeditionary force forward, in afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom and 21, november, 2010. was acorporal carpenter member of a force comprised of two reinforced marine rifle squads and partnered with an afghan national army squad. the distracted enemy activity and provide security for the local afghan population. and acorporal carpenter fellow marines were manager.

when the enemy initiated a daylight attack with hand grenades, one of which landed nearby. without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own safety come a lance corporal carpenter moved toward the grenade in attempt to shield his fellow marine from the blast. when it detonated, his body absorbed the brunt of the blast. courage andnted fighting spirit and unwavering duty and in the face of almost certain death, lance corporal carpenter took it upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the marine corps and the u.s. marine corps service. [applause]

>> let us pray. and made this ceremony serve as a reminder of their irresponsibility's that come with receiving the great gift of freedom. as we depart this hollowed hall, and return to our daily lives, we pray that you will in power us that when called upon, we will represent the resolute

fearlessness of corporal kyle carpenter and all those who were the stars of valor and live up to responsibilities and bring honor to you and to this country. within the strength of your name, we pray. amen. >> amen. >> that brings us to the conclusion of the ceremony, but not the reception and the party. i want to say thank you to everyone for being here, especially kyle's wonderful family and his parents. i understand that the food here at the white house is pretty good. [laughter] 30 told his brothers but they should be chowing down. that goes for everyone else as well. i think the drinks are free. it is still early in the afternoon. thank you, everyone. one more round of applause. kyle carpenter.

[applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. as i stand before you today, i am truly honored and humbled, yet i accept this honor with a heavy heart. as the president put the medal of honor around my neck from i felt the history and the weight of the nation. i think of the marines who fearlessly defend their ship's and fought for an idea, new way of life. i think of the deadly trenches of world war i and the marines

who went through the bloody beaches in world war ii. think about the marines in korea who lost their teeth, hands to frostbite. i think about the marines who fought for days on end from house to house in the scorching heat and cities like falluja, baghdad. i think about the marines who are with me. i close my eyes and i can still cries ofr desperate the radio. today except the metal for them -- i accept the medal for them. i will wear it for those who have been wounded on distant lands, but still continue to fight in battle.

allthose who have given their families, i can ever express in words what you mean to this nation that use of -- selflessly fought for. wear this medal for my family and those who have been there to help, love, support, and encourage me along my journey of healing and recovery. i am proud to be a marine. i'm proud of those who have raised their right hand. those who sacrifice and earned the right to wear the colors of our nation. served, arewho have

serving, and who will serve. freedom is a powerful and beautiful thing. be thankful for what you have. appreciate the small and simple things. be kind and help others. but the ones you love know that you love them. when things get tough, trust that there is a bigger plan and that you will be stronger for it. thank you very much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] the president previewed the summit in his weekly address. and the republican address. they talk about affordable energy.

>> hi, everybody. priority is, my top rebuilding an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. i will spend some time talking about it on monday at the white house summit on working families . we're bringing together business leaders and workers to talk about the challenges that working parents face every day and how we can address them together. take paper family and many jobs do not offer adequate leave to care for a new baby or an ailing parent. workers cannot afford to be there when their family needs them the most. that is wrong. .t puts us behind the times only three countries in the world report that they do not offer paid maternity leave for free. the united states is one of them . it is time to change that. a few states have acted on their own to give workers paid family leave. to be available to everyone.

all-american should be able to afford to care for a family member in need. childcare is another challenge. most cannot afford thousands a year for childcare, but often that is what it costs. that leaves parents grappling just to make sure that their kids are safe while they are at work and forget about giving him the high quality of early childhood education that helps kids succeed in life. then there's the issue of flexibility, the dose to take a few hours off for parent-teacher conference or to work from home when your child is sick and most workers want it, but not enough of them have it. what is more come in that only makes workers happier, the study showed that fixed ability to make workers more productive and reduce worker turnover and absentees. that is good for business. at a time when women make up about half of america's workforce come out didn't work place policies that make it harder for mothers to work hold our economy -- our whole economy

that. these are not just problems for women. men also care about who's watching their kids. they are rearranging their scheduled to make it to soccer games and school plays. lots of sense health care for aging parents. planet paris would love to be home for the new baby's first weeks in the world. in fact, in a new study, nearly half of all parents report that they have said no to a job not because they did not want it, but because it would be too hard on their families. when that many talented and hard we can people -- hard-working people have to choose, something if we wantre american businesses to compete and win in the global economy -- family leave, childcare, and flexibility. these are not frills. they are basic needs. they should not be bonuses, but the bottom line.

this is some businesses are embracing family-friendly policies because they know it is key to attracting and retaining employees. i will keep highlighting the businesses that do. i take this personally. i take it personally as a son and grandson of strong women who have worked hard to support me. and of the husband of a brilliant woman who struggle to balance work and has raised our girls would my job offer cap me away. and as a father of two beautiful young ladies whom i want to be there for as much as i can and who i hope will be able to have families and careers of their own when they. we know from our history that economy grows best from the middle act. our country does better when everyone participates, when everyone's talents are put to use, when we all have a fair shot. that is the america i believe in and that is the america i will keep fighting for every day you thanks and have a great weekend. let's talk about energy in

how it affects our daily lives and how republicans are working to make it more affordable, reliable, beneficial. we thought america's energy needs could only be met through increasing foreign dependence. it is a scary thought, especially as he watched the chaos unfold overseas gasoline prices close in on war dollars a gallon at home. i hear constantly from working families struggling with the cost of doing -- filling the tank is to drive to and from work. energy is at the core of american life. it supports jobs in our economy and effects everything from the price at the pump to the cost of groceries. americans need to make ends meet. manufacturing plants and her home state of michigan and around the country all depend on affordable energy. that is why this coming week the house is going to vote on bills to make the most of america's

buildingenergy by pipelines and transmission lines to connect our energy abundance andby using our energy strength to fight back against hostile nation to use the resources to hold the rest of the world hostage. we have taken steps to modernize permitting energy projects and cut red tape and keep american coal in our energy mix. we will not stop there. we are offering more predictable regulation that encourages investment and lowers racist, creates jobs at home, making targeting energy that will help reduce costs and eliminate waste . we are focusing on the safety and the reliability of the electrical grid to protect against everything from security threats to brownouts and blackouts. we are working to keep nuclear

power safe and sustainable for the long term. that is what we mean by and all of the above energy strategy. -- fossilsenewably and renewable fuel. the steps can help save money for american families, great new jobs that we want, and strengthen our decision across the globe. it is a very different than president obama's vision. his recently announced rules will make it harder to use all of our american resources. rationd forced to energy. his record of energy development remains dismal. he couldthe day when not say yes to the job creating keystone xl pipeline that will displace energy from hostile parts of the world like venezuela in the middle east replace it with supplies from our allies, canada.

instead, it is in purgatory. america waits and waits. we can do better, yes we can. the u.s. has entered an era of energy dependence. we need the infrastructure and .he policies to support that is what republicans are working to deliver. thanks for listening. have a great weekend. next secretary of state speaks at the ocean conference. after that, a hearing on climate change. i think my colleagues in journalism would give a similar grade whether they are liberal or conservative. the freedom of information process has become a joke.

this administration has perfected the stall and the delay of excuses. it is shocking. i feel very strongly that the information they withhold blocks to the public. we own it. as if they are private corporation and defend their trade secrets rather than understanding what they hold is information they have gathered on our behalf. sharyl attkisson on sunday onq." john kerryy, adjusted conference on the world's oceans. it is hosted by the state department. the opening session included remarks by the president. the event brings together government officials, scientists, and international institutions to discuss the protection of the ocean ecosystem. this is an hour and 15 minute.

>> welcome to the ocean conference. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the secretary of state of the united states of america, the president of the republic and under secretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. secretary kerry, and other distinguished guests will hear and joining us online, i am toighted to welcome you all washington and to thank you for all the work that you are doing to advance the cause of ocean .onservation

participants from more than 80 countries are here today are presenting for an economic and ocean ministries, nongovernment foundations, and the companies, scientific research communities, and ordinary citizens. this diversity reflects one of the central tenants of this conference such as solutions to the challenges in our oceans that require commitments from everyone. we chose the title our ocean for this event to communicate a fact of that ocean scientists understand well. the water covers two thirds of the earth's surface. it is really a single interconnected, global ocean. because there is only one interconnected and interdependent ocean, pollution and one quarter the ocean matters even to those of us living thousand -- thousands of miles away. while the ph of the water may

vary slightly from one place to another, rising levels threaten ocean ecology everywhere. along with the atmosphere, our ocean is that greatest of all of our assets. it performs a critical role of recycling water carbon come in nutrients. millions of people defend on it for their livelihood. our ocean is also uniquely vulnerable to collective damage from the behavior of billions of beividuals each of whom may acting rationally from their point of view. we will examine three critical issues for ocean health, sustainable refresh trees, lucian, and ocean acidification. we will look at the challenges we face in the way they have impacted communities around the world. despite the real and growing talent is facing our ocean, practical and effective solutions exist at every level of our society. there is a role for government

and we expect some impressive announcements and new initiatives over the next few days. they are equally important roles for civil society, credit .ompany, and individuals more importantly, for collaboration. ,ollective action is critical and so is individual action. at the end of the day, it is individuals who have the power to change the behavior and the behavior of the government. as we lay out this conference of the last few months. we have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic support for our partners and individuals around the world. the support has loomed online. a few minutes ago, the department of state social media burst reached over 5.3 million people. all from individuals and organizations adding their voices to this cause. i urge everyone here to reach out to your network and spread

the news about this conference. we look at this conference as more than a two-day event here and we are committed to working with all of you to have new initiatives, raise awareness about the challenges, and have a concrete plan on the steps we must take to conserve the ocean. it is my great pleasure to introduce inspiration and host of this conference, secretary of state john kerry. [laughter] [applause] >> i have to advocate for him a little bit more before i talk . [laughter] yet 20 years in the u.s. senate. has integrated oceans, climate, energy, and other

cutting edge environment issues into the mainstream policy like no other secretary of state before him. with great pleasure, secretary of state john kerry. [applause] >> thank you. welcome, everyone. leaders from foundations and ngos and various interested entities. we are delighted to have such an concernedary expert group come together to discuss this political issue -- critical issue. i am personally very grateful to the leadership of our terrific undersecretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment.

it is a big package, obviously. who has been working diligently to put this together. you can tell from the surroundings this will be interactive. there will be a lot of visual input to digest. and a great deal of science to document what we are talking about here over the course of these next couple days. i am really grateful to my team at the state department that has worked overtime under kathy's leadership to help bring everybody together today. i thank you all for coming. i welcome you to the state department, to the loy henderson conference room. particularly those of you who are representing countries from around the world, the private sector, civil society, academia. as well as many people joining us online via live stream through state.gov.

i hope many more people will join us over the course of the next two days. as many of you know, convening a conference like this has been a priority of mine for some period of time. i started thinking about this when i was still in the senate. we wanted to try to pull it together. last year we did. as you know, we had a political moment here in washington. which prevented us from going forward at that time. candidly, i think it has worked for the better. it give us more time to think about how to make this conference is a more effective. and how to maximize what we are doing here. a commitment to protecting the ocean, which we all share, has been a priority of mine for a long time has kathy mentioned. literally from the time i was growing up as a child in massachusetts when i first

dipped my toes into the mud off of the ocean in buzzards bay. and i was introduced to fishing and the great joys of the ocean. i have had this enormous amount of respect for what the ocean means. i went into the navy through that and had the pleasure of crossing the pacific both ways on a ship. and passing through many different parts of the pacific ocean region. it has been in my dna, my mother's family was involved in early days of trade through the oceans. my father was a passionate sailor who, in his retirement, found a way to sail across the ocean several times. i learned very early on to appreciate this vast expanse of

the ocean. so vast that three quarters of our planet is ocean. someone might have called our planet "ocean," not earth if it was based on that. the stewardship of our ocean is not a one-person event. it is a nation event, a country and universal event. it is a requirement across this planet. i tried very hard when i was in the senate, as chairman of the senate oceans and fisheries subcommittee, we rewrote laws and created sanctuaries. the coastal zone management act, flood insurance. all the things that have to do with development and non-source point solution and the things that concern us as we come today. that is the concern that i bring

to this effort as secretary of state now. the reason for that is really very simple. for anyone who questions why are we here when there are so many areas of conflict and so many issues of vital concern as there are. regrettably, because of that, i will not be at every part of this conference. we have much to do with respect to iraq and other emergencies that we face. no one should mistake that the protection of our oceans is a vital international security issue. it is a vital security issue involving the movement of people, the livelihood of people, the capacity of people to exist and live where they live today. the ocean today supports the livelihoods of up to 12% of the world's population. it is also essential to maintaining the environment in which we all live. it is responsible for recycling

things like water, carbon, nutrients throughout our planet and throughout the ecosystem. system is an important word. so that we have air to breathe, water to drink. it is home to literally millions of species. protecting our ocean is also a great necessity for global food security. given that more than 3 billion people, 50% of the people on this planet, in every corner of the world, depend on fish for protein. the connection between a healthy ocean and life itself for every single person on earth cannot be overstated. we will hear from scientists say will talk about that relationship in the course of the next hours.

we, as human beings, share nothing so completely as the ocean that covers nearly three quarters that our planet. i remember the first time i grasped that notion. in the early 1970's when the first color pictures of earth from space were released. the famous blue marble photographs. when you look at those images, you do not see borders or markers separating one nation from another. you just see big masses of green and brown surrounded by blue. that shaped the realization that what has become clichéd and even taken for granted. is taken for granted. is the degree to which we all share one planet and one ocean.

because we share nothing so completely as our ocean, each of us also shares the responsibility to protect it. you can look at any scripture of any religion, any life philosophy and you will draw from it that sense of responsibility. i think most people want their children and their grandchildren to benefit from a healthy ocean the same way that we have been privileged to. they want to do their part to ensure that that is the case. here's the problem -- when anybody looks out of the ocean, we are all guilty of it -- when you stand on a beach and look at the tide rolling in, you feel that the ocean is larger-than-life. that that is an endless resource, impossible to destroy. people underestimate the damage that we are inflicting on our ocean every single day. when people order seafood from a

restaurant, most of the time they do not realize that 1/3 of the world's fish stocks are over exploited. too much money chasing too few fish. nearly all the rest are being finished at or near absolute sustainable level on a planet with 6 billion people today and 9 billion over the next 30 or 40 or 50 years. most people are not aware of something where up to half or two thirds of the fish in a catch i'm not with efficient was looking for, they are thrown overboard. when people go swimming or surfing, they do not realize that pollution has led to more than 500 dead zones in the ocean. areas where life simply cannot exist. and that together, those dead stones at up to an area of

roughly the size of the state of michigan in the u.s. when people walk through an aquarium and they see and learn about the marine world, they usually do not realize that because of climate change, the basic chemistry of our ocean is changing. faster than it has ever changed in the history of the planet. if it continues much longer, a significant chunk of marine life might simply die out because it can no longer live and survive in the ocean's waters. the bottom line is that most people do not realize that if the entire world does not come together to try to change course and protect the ocean from unsustainable fishing practices, unprecedented pollution, or the devastating effects of climate change, then we run the risk of fundamentally breaking entire ecosystems. and as you will hear throughout this conference, that will translate into a serious

consequence for the health and the economy's in the future of all of us. the good news is that at this point we know what we need to do to address the threats facing the ocean. it is not a mystery. it is not beyond our capacity. everyone is aware of the effective steps that people are taking already. both large and small around the world. in latin america, ngos are helping fishermen improve their sustainability by engaging those fishermen in monitoring their couches and in the process of selecting new marine protected areas. in africa, local volunteers -- volunteers -- take it upon

themselves to collect the trash that floods from the streets to the beaches during the periods of intense rain. there's a group of volunteers in guinea, named after the blue trash bags they use to collect garbage. an incredible effort to be responsible. in the asia-pacific, half a dozen nations have come together with u.s. support to protect the coral triangle, a part of the ocean that has been called the amazon of the seas because of its incredible biodiversity. the coral triangle initiative has led to improved management of a marine area that is almost the size of one of our states, north dakota. it has inspired more than 90 policies, regulations, laws, and agreements to protect the coastal and marine resources.

here in the u.s., we have taken significant strides to end overfishing in u.s. fisheries. we have rebuilt a record number of fish stocks back from depleted levels. at the same time, promoted and increase to the economic viability of our fisheries. trying hard to actually give meaning to the word "sustainable fisheries." these are a few examples. a great deal of work that you are all familiar with and many of you have created. that is taking place around the world. so far, all of these efforts have only been applied on a relatively small scale. and only applied in one region or another. if we want to honor and we are going to be able to honor our

shared responsibility to protect the ocean, the ad hoc approach we have with each nation and community pursuing an independent policy will not suffice. that is not how the ocean works. we're not going to meet this challenge. unless the community of nations comes together around a single, comprehensive, global ocean strategy. that is the only way we can clean up our ocean today and make sure that it remains what it needs to be for generations to come. that is what this conference is all about. over the past few years, even over the past few months, there have been an encouraging number of reports, summits, meetings, even conventions convening to examine threats our ocean is facing and ways to address them. many of you have been part of

this meeting. i hope you have found them as valuable as we have. they have been instructed and critical. but, now is the time for us to build on the groundwork of these past years. now is the time to build on the knowledgebase base that we have created through these meetings. that is why we have invited you here now. not just to have an important conversation. but to reach important conclusions. to try to put together a plan of action. i want us to walk away from this conference with more than ideas. i want us to walk away from here with a plan. a plan that put an end to overfishing based on rules from science. one thing that senator ted stevens of alaska team with me on. one of the things we were fighting was getting more, better science so we could

convince fishermen and countries of the imperative of making decisions. i would hear from captains when i go out and fish i see plenty of stocks, no reason to restrict. we need science. globally, we can, with the budget and the capacity to be able to do what we need to help convince people of the urgency of this. we need a plan that requires fisheries to use gear and techniques that dramatically reduce the amount of fish and other species caught by accident and discarded. a plan that ends subsidies to fisheries, which serves to promote overfishing. a plan that makes it near impossible for a legally caught fish to come to the market anywhere. a plan that ends subsidies to fisheries, which serves to

promote overfishing. a plan that makes it near impossible for a legally caught fish to come to the market anywhere. whether in boston, beijing, barcelona, or a city that does not begin with a b. [laughter] let's develop a plan that protects marine habitats. we will have an announcement regarding that, president obama will make such an announcement. today, less than 2% of our ocean is considered a marine protected area. where there are restrictions on human activity in order to prevent contaminating the ecosystem. less than 2% of the entire ocean. let's start by finding a way to bring that number up to 10% or more as soon as possible. let's develop a plan that does more to reduce the flow of plastic and other debris from entering into the ocean.

everybody is seeing that massive array of garbage in the pacific and elsewhere. we need a plan that helps cut down the nutrient pollution that runs off of land and is miles from the shore. and contributes to dead zones that i mentioned. i learned about that when i was running for president in iowa and minnesota and mississippi and missouri rivers. you learn about the flow of these nutrients that go down the mississippi and into the goal. we have a big dead zone as a result. we need to develop a plan that gives us a better understanding of the acidification affect. carbon pollution is having on our oceans. in the antarctic, there was a regurgitation of carbon dioxide. have we reached a saturation point? it is a question that is critical to our capacity to deal with climate change. we ought to know where it is happening and how quickly it is happening so we can slow it down. we need to push harder to fight carbon pollution.

the science proves that is the only way we will have a chance of reducing the effect of climate change, which is one of the greatest threats facing not just our ocean but our entire planet. finally, we need to develop a plan that lays out policies and protect our ocean. but that also considers how we are going to enforce those policies on a global scale. without enforcement, any plan we create will only take us so far. i think it was back in the 1990's that ted stevens and i joined forces to take drift net fishing to the u.s. we have become aware of literally tens of thousands of miles of monofilament netting dragged behind a boat that would strip the ocean.

vast proportions of the catch thrown away. clearly not sustainable. senator stevens and i went to the u.n., it was banned. but there are still rogue vessels using dragnetting. no one is enforcing it. we need to change this. over the next two days, let's put our heads together and work on a plan to preserve fish stocks, manage coastlines, protect ecosystems. a way to preserve fisheries. a way to come to a common understanding of our common interest and find a consensus

that we can take to the u.n. take this plan to the u.n. and other international organizations. all of us again talking the same language on the same page about the same objectives. if we make this a plan that all countries must follow, helping them understand that no country can afford not to. whether you are on the ocean or not. i know this sounds ambitious, it is meant to be. some of you are thinking what did i get myself into. look around the room, everyone of you is here for a reason. we have government leaders, including three heads of state. we have experts from international organizations, the world bank president jim yong kim.

we have private sector leaders who are committed to our ocean's future. people like chris from bumblebee foods. the best ocean scientists in the world are here. we can come together to ensure that every solution we discuss is tied to the best science available. ask yourself -- if this group can't create a serious plan to protect the oceans, who can? we cannot afford to put this challenge on hold for another day. it is our ocean and our responsibility. i hope of the next two days we will maximize the time we are here. i am delighted that you can to be part of this. i hope this will be a new beginning, a new effort to unify a concerted pressure that is necessary to make a difference.

there'll be a great deal of information coming out you in short order. but we have one of the loudest and clearest voices in the world and the call to address climate change. why hes a simpler reason has a special interest. it is because climate change is already posing an accidental threat to his country -- existen tial threat to his country. but it is well beyond the own interest of his country. yet this established one of the largest protected areas in the world in the phoenix islands in the pacific trade it is an honor to have him share his thoughts with us this morning. ladies and gentlemen

kerry.k you, secretary hosts course our gracious today and over the next couple of days. yourh to acknowledge contribution this morning. thank you very much for that very inspiring statement. friends of the ocean, ladies and gentlemen. you,e begin by greeting bringing greetings from the iribati. i'm very

honored to be here to address this conference. in my country we usually begin all formal addresses by conferring blessings on each other. let me do so to each and everyone of you this morning. and a greator pleasure for me to be a part of this summit. byt may begin at the outset expressing my deep gratitude and appreciation, and of course our congratulations to the secretary of state john kerry and the government and people of the united states for this timely invitation to attend the summit on an urgent issue focused on our oceans. the leadership and commitment to saving our oceans and indeed our planet is one that we in the pacific view very closely and

welcome. i commend our host country's strong commitment for action against climate change, action against the blind pursuit of development without full responsibility for its impact on our environment. this summit, i believe, is the beginning of more developments in this area. summit, our the ocean, is indeed very significant and serves to remind us of our shared and mutual ownership of the ocean, which comes with a shared to share they health of our ocean for our children, their children and for future generations.

as the secretary of state has said, our planet is our shared home. unfortunately, the only one we have. ladies and gentlemen, for far too long, human activity in the name of development and our single-minded pursuit for short-term gain and profits have had severe impacts on the health of our environment. include illegal fishing, dumping waste in the ocean, industrial activity, which have caused excessive carbon dioxide emissions. of course the list goes on. in combination, these activities have greatly affected the health of our ocean and our planet and other ecosystems. these have resulted in what we see now.

stocks, sea fishing level rise, increased ocean temperatures, and a change to our climate system. has the human history health of our oceans and our .lanet been so challenged my country has often been andrred to as a small developing state. but in reality, my people have been custodians for centuries of the surrounding oceans. of around 3.5 million square themeters, more than twice size of the largest u.s. state of alaska. when i say the ocean is very much a part of our lives, our culture, and our heritage, i do of course include not only my

fellow pacific island nations, but also united states of america. boundariesritime with our waters strategically located. furthermore, our ocean territory host part of the largest withning tuna fisheries true commercial supply chains linked to the united states businesses and consumers. ocean,nce, through the we do not only have direct linkages to the united states, but also intricately linked with u.s. national security. gentlemen, indeed the same case would apply to my colleagues.

this very same ocean has now raised a new major survival challenge. our people are now facing major challenges never faced before from rising sea levels. over recent times, at the beginning of this year in particular, we experienced erosion of our shorelines caused by unusually high tides. in some parts of the country, our villages have had to be relocated due to severe erosion. food crops have been destroyed, and the freshwater has been contaminated by rising sea levels. these are new experience for us and are not part of our normal weather cycle. my friends on the marshall islands during that. declared a state of emergency. in our experience on the

ground have given us ample proof that if we do not change direction, it will be to our detriment, more so for our children and their children's children. sadly, the global action nowhere matches -- nowhere near matches the severity that the sea rise poses for our people and countries. climate change as i've said time and again poses the greatest moral challenge of our time. it is about the survival of people, the survival of women and children, whole communities, cities and nations. economics, not anymore. this is not a political football . it is not about the course of who is responsible anymore. it is now about what we must do

, global as responsible citizens. do anything on their own. ocean and oured planet and we need to work together to address this challenge. are anlying nations, we they warning against consequences of sea rise. fall, but when we fall, others will follow, and they, too. and than 70% of the cities human settlements around the world are on coastal areas. they will be the next on the frontline. labels -- ladies and gentlemen, one of our major hopes of

responding to climate change lie also in the very ocean which is threatening us from sea level rise. vast fishery resources within our economic zones in the various countries. ourin our waters alone, resources are valued at around $500 million per year. that is their collective value. this is of no value to us because at the moment we are only receiving around 8% of this one month -- of this in one month. given the value of the resources available to estimate we could harness the value of the resource, it would provide us with the opportunity and capacity to become more climate resilient and to be able to adapt in a way that we need to

adapt in order to address the challenge. i believe there should be more equity and justice in the business partnership with the .ishing industry custodians of such resources should be allowed to participate . we believe that it can only be through realizing the value of the resources to us that we can provide the much-needed financial resources for adaptation to the changing climate. ladies and gentlemen, we recognize the importance of our oceans and the resources within for the future of our people. accordingly, with the assistance of our partners, conservation international, we established in 2008 one of the largest marine protected areas in our part of the world. at the world heritage site in

2010. it is not only the largest living laboratory were science -- for scientists can study and ecosystem in its pristine stages, it is also a major spawning ground for tuna. is closer. it will have a major contribution to conservation and the rejuvenation of fish stocks and global food security. first, it is an investment in the future. it is also our contribution to humanity, to the conservation and preservation of marine life, not only for us, but for the global community and the generations to come. indicatestantly, it our strong conviction to the global community that addressing the challenges of climate change calls for very serious commitment and sacrifice. of this hashment

not been done without sacrifices. the projected initial loss of ways estimate a bleak in our consideration. in the final analysis, we made withecision to persist sustainable strategy. i'm happy today to announce at tiis conference that kiriba has seconded the suggestion to firstall fishing from the of january 2015. [applause] we have not stopped there. we have also recently taken an initial step to declare the 12 mile nautical zone surrounding

off of the islands close from all commercial fishing activities to allow for the marine environment in these islands to remain in their current pristine condition. [applause] lazy john, this effort at conservation and sustainable management of our ocean and murray in life is not only confined to this. in 2010, leaders of our region unanimously adopted the pacific ocean scape. a framework for our region to safeguard the health of our oceans. region, we take our obligations as stewards of one of the greatest natural endowments in the world very seriously. thatbligation to assure

the pacific ocean sustains life on this planet not only for now, before the days to come. our continued commitment as a ision will be reflected and reflected in the theme of the upcoming pacific islands forum held, which are be the ocean, our life, our future. following the endorsement of the pacific ocean scape, other pacific island countries also protected areas. the cook islands in 2012 declared 1.4 million square kilometers. au declaredrom pal u closed.la other countries have done the same. so, this is the momentum that we want to carry on.

within the pacific, we have a number of arrangements in place to ensure that we do the job that needs to be done. region, therefore, has some of the more stringent and most elaborate conservation and management arrangements for this purpose. according to the pacific islands forum, the pacific community, the south pacific regional environment program, the western and central pacific tuna fisheries commission, the u.s. multilateral treaty, as well as the sub regional coastal , a subes resources regional grouping of coastal -- ladies and gentlemen, let me emphasize that conservation and sustainable management efforts will be

futile if efforts are not supported at a global level. global interaction to regulate and ensure the levels of destruction to our ocean planet, -- the result would be the loss of our entire ocean ecosystem. it will have no kneeling -- no restrictionse cannot be enforced. it is not something new, but it is healthier to be put into effective use. such technology will complement the existing collaborative agreements necessary to ensure that our oceans, covering some two thirds of the earth's surface, are effectively monitored and protected. ladies and gentlemen, we reached

a global community. our fishing water partners, private individuals and those the positionhare to make similar sacrifices, including making contributions to supporting the marine protected areas. it makes good financial sense. our presence here today is part of the necessary step toward joint local action, joint local joint localnd obligation to preserve and save our home, or one and only home. here is the knowledge meant of our shared responsibility to ensure the health of our ocean and our environment. momentum. allow this that is not slow his momentum, but let us continue forward.

states as united security general. the preservation of our oceans and in action against climate change, are global obsolete -- obligations to future survival. on behalf of my fellow pacific islanders. they should be given exclusive share the post 2015 development goals. andre one global community we have our collective responsibility to ensure that the planet is our home and our children's home and our children's children's home that will support life as we know today. our knowledge, our capacity and our efforts to save this life source, this gift from mother

nature. it is no longer an option. action is our obligation to our children and our children's children. ladies and gentlemen, let me ourlude by sharing with you blessings. prosperity peace and be upon us all. thank you. [applause] >> mr. president, secretary kerry, thank you very much for the inspirational remarks and for the amazing announcements that the president has made. it shows very clearly the leaders have in

driving forward to protect our ocean. i'm delighted to invite to the stage three leading civil society voices on ocean conservation. phillies cousteau, margaret and enrique of national geographic. while they take the stage, the images you will see around the room are from one of the best-known and most love symbols of ocean science, the alvin submersible which just turned 50 years old this year. [applause] ♪ in the town where i was born ♪ ♪ the demand of sale to see. and he told us of his life in the land of submarines ♪

♪ so we sailed out to the sun ♪ ♪ to we found a sea of green ♪ and we lived beneath the waves in our yellow submarine ♪ ♪ we all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine. we all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine ♪ ♪m and our friends are all aboard . many more of them live next door ♪ ♪ and the band begins to play ♪ ♪ ♪ we all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine ♪

we all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine ♪ [machine sounds] ♪ as we live a life of ease, every one of us has always ♪ green inue, and sea of our yellow submarine ♪ in a yellowve submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine. ♪ in a yellowve submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine. ♪

♪ we all live in a yellow submarine -- ♪ [applause] tois now my pleasure introduce phillippe cousteau. he's a leader in the environmental movement and an award-winning television host, producer and an author. he is also a successful social entrepreneur. in 2004, he founded earth echo aternational, and ngo aimed solving environmental challenges. in 2013, he founded buoyancy group, which brings together his efforts to help in -- help corporations and ngos successfully implement the marketing and communications efforts. he has also taken is market oriented approach to wall street where he partners with advisers phillippe, the floor

is yours. [applause] >> thank you, undersecretary novelli. thank you, secretary kerry for working so hard to establish the ocean as essential to global affairs. i thought this morning that it would be appropriate to open our conversation about exploration with a little trip down memory lane. a reminder of just how recently explorerney began to and protect our ocean. i brought here to share with you , themorning a little clip first few minutes of the first episode of the under sea world of jacques cousteau from 1968. let's watch that. ♪ crew and i will be taking a series of voyages of

expiration and discovery in all the seas of the world. we will endeavor to save magnificent creatures threatened with extinction. we will study the behavior of all forms of life that thrive in the sea. we will try to trace the history of the oceans in rocks dating back millions of years. from cages made of plexiglas, we will film life that is sometimes serene, sometimes savage, and always beautiful. ♪ we will explore the graveyards of the sea were sunken ships slumber in search of scientific creatures, more precious than ship wreck's gold. ♪

each time we dive, each time we enter the sea, we learn something new. we have never been better equipped to observe, to learn, and to put our findings to scientific use. over the years, our will lead us thatnfront the dangers endanger the splendors of the sea. ♪

[applause] >> 1968 wasn't that long ago. i would think it is nice to look back and remember where things gorted to inspire us to forward. what many people don't realize is that this iconic elevation series was actually proceeded -- preceded by two decades of work. when my grandfather started his journey exploring oceans in the 1940's, it wasn't about concentration, it was just about exploration. ira member growing up with a story from him about how it took

years for my father, felipe senior and my grandfather as they watched from the 1940's to the 1960's, the rapid industrialization take its toll on the health of the oceans, and the shift that they evolved from pure exploration to conservation . my grandfather said, most of that for most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive. in this century, he beginning to realize that in order to survive, you must protect it. their personal journey from explorer to conservationist is the same journey that each and every single one of us has taken in this room, each in our own unique way. it is a journey that led us here. it is our collective exploration which has led to a wealth of knowledge not only about the ocean but about what humans are doing to it. fisheries and the impact of carbon pollution.

they may seem daunting, but the , we can fix this. will require more than technological advances in the ways of doing business. it will require all of us to continue to elevate the ocean to its rightful place at the center of the global stage. a secretary kerry said earlier, the ocean is our planet. so our job here is to help the world recognize the ocean is a fundamental solution to many of the greatest global challenges faced by humanity. from climate change to food security to providing sustained economic growth and prosperity and peace for countless millions . every day, i have the privilege of working with young people to whom are represented here this morning. i have the opportunity to film documentaries around the world on environmental issues and i

hear a growing chorus of people who are aware of the problems facing our planet and who are yearning for a reason to hope. to know that change is possible, and that they can be a part of it. they're looking to you, to the world leaders, to scientists and explorers, to the dreamers to lead the way. oncether, felipe senior, said that adventure is where you lead a full life. i can think of no greater adventure in exploring our water planet in all of its mystery, .ts beauty, and its wonder and then armed with that knowledge, to have the courage and the audacity to build a better world. enjoy the conference. thank you. [applause] >> thank you felipe for starting us off with great inspiration.

i am now delighted to introduce rr. marcus lyman, the directo of the script incident -- of the scripps institute of oceanography. concurrently as a vice chancellor for marine science of the university of california san diego. dr. lyman is one of the united states's leading ocean scientists for research in the areas of ocean bio-chem chemistry and paleo oceanography . it includes the study of ocean carbon cycling and the role of the ocean and climate. she is the president elect of the american physical union, the largest geoscience society in the world hum and has also served as the president of the oceanographic society. dr. lyman. [applause] you, undersecretary novelli. and thank you secretary kerry for bringing us all together

today. see,i first went to understanding the ocean came in small bites. we ran transects, we brought the data back to the lab and worked on it there. today, we understand the ocean for observation ingrate gulps, from satellites, moorings, drifting systems. we are going to hear a lot of concern over the next two days about fisheries, acidification, but the keylutions, to these and our understanding of the oceans starts with observation. for that, we have an incredible success story. i like to give you a couple of examples of high-tech and low-tech observation of global .cales and very intimate scales and just to contract how far we have come, the lines that you see on these maps are the

transect lines of a major international experiment, the world ocean circulation seariment that started at in 1990 and wanted to get a snapshot of the physical ocean a timeort -- in as short as possible. to fill out the work here took eight years, hundreds of cruises, tens of millions of dollars. oftentrast, today we drifting ocean with bullies like the argo floats you see here, deployed from ships, they sink into the ocean, go ,own to about 2000 meters measure salinity, temperature, oxygen, position, depth, and then come back up to the surface emeter that data back to us in our laboratory. these floats were developed by

the academic community with funding from noah, but subsequently 30 nations have contributed floats to populate this system. the map here shows the population of those floats from 2000 until today. buoys, 2000 meters of water -- through thousands of meters of water, we now get more measurements in one month than we did from that entire eight years of data. an incredible success story in our ability to observe the ocean . from this set of measurements, we have been able to quantify the warming of the ocean and also show how its salinity has been changing. corals are a different kind of story. we know that coral reefs,

important nurseries for fisheries an important habitat, are under threat from acidification, from warming, from pollution, from disease and from physical disruption. requireportant habitats a more personal approach, a more intimate approach for observation. and yet here, some of the most exciting things are coming from the commercial community. small, inexpensive cameras developed for the recreational community, the go pro cameras, are used now to put together all -- usingphotos with computers to develop imagery plow, to from a recent be able to go back to the land and study the reason -- the region in exquisite detail.

imagine doing that on a regular basis with scientists, with citizen scientists, to be able to look at this area as it changes with respect to different events. we have now gotten used to be able to look at the ocean from satellites. this is sea surface temperature 1998, during96- which there is a major el niño in the pacific ocean followed by the cooled based la niña. 30 years ago we couldn't even dream to be able to study the ocean in this way, and yet now we can look at a phenomenon that covers the entire half of the , and, look at it in detail understand how it evolves and what happens with it. on the screen, you see a movie from an underwater microscope.

the field of view is 2.5 millimeters. those are two corals, two different species that never occur next to each other there you're seeing why. the coral on the left has just you heard its digestive organ and is pouring cost if digestive enzymes all over the coral on the right. that is why they don't occur together. these remarkable technologies give us insight into things we could never observe otherwise, new ways to observe the ocean. and finally, an even smaller bacterium. is a it is the most abundant organism in the ocean, and therefore horribly the most abundant organism on earth. we did not even know it existed in 2000. ordidn't find it in a trawl even by looking at a drop of

water through a microscope. we found it by its genetic footprint in a bulk water sample from the sargasso sea. cells in the surface temperature ocean are this bacteria. it has an outside influence on the ocean because it is a very efficient recycler of organic themes one of the major -- one of the major components of the carbon cycle in the ocean. from spatial scales of the glow of to the intimate scales of the isan, our ability to observe key to our ability to understand , and key to our ability to provide answers to the challenges we are going to hear over the next few days. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you dr. leinen for showing us how cool science can be. lastoing to introduce our . he isdr. henrique sala currently leading the national geographic's pristine seas roger , -- project. it has a goal of finding, surveying and helping protect the last wild places in the ocean. in the last five years, pristine seas and the partners have inspired leaders to protect over 450,000 square kilometers of ocean in five countries. -- enrique has won the 2013 lowell thomas award.

henrique. >> iq. mr. secretary, dear friends, carry those amigos -- thank you for inviting me to give this keynote. i am not speaking just for myself, that for all of those who makein the field ocean conservation their life purpose. for all of us have witnessed dramatic changes in the ocean during our lifetimes. in my case, growing up on the mediterranean coast of spain in the 70's and watching jacques cousteau's documentaries, i was saddened by the loss of a large and abandoned fish -- and abundant fish that cousteau .howed us when he was filming how many of you have a similar story of loss? how many of you have seen the ocean now were in the ocean of

your childhood? raise your hands. secretary kerry already reminded us what we have lost because of overfishing, pollution and the of ocean warming and acidification. today, i want to show you what we have found, what i have seen in places that are remote and have not been affected by human activities. like kiribati's southern highlands. and the u.s. pacific remote islands. diving in these places, it is like going back in time to an ocean with crystal-clear water full of large predators and healthy corals. these reefs, these pristine that they are more resilient to the impact of global warming.

the question we need to ask ourselves is quite simple. how can we move ocean ecosystems closer to the state of health and resilience? becausetions are many so are the problems. we need to manage our fisheries pollution.uce we need to tackle these problems , but it will take time to have an effect. there are steps we can take right now that will have immediate benefits. we can create, as the secretary said, more marine protected areas. in particular, marine reserves that are close to fishing and marine resources. in the 90's i came back to the coast of spain and dived in a marine reserve that had been protected for a few years.

all the fish, i still remember that first dive, all the large fish that were absent from the ocean of my childhood were right there in this reserve, like this big grouper. i had a friend who became efficient -- who became a fisherman. he told me he could not be a for then if it were not reserve. he said many of the fish spilled over and had to apply for local fisheries around. other people i know developed thriving ecotourism businesses, creating hundreds of jobs and bringing 20 times more income than fishing to the local economy. you haveat many of experienced personally the benefits of marine reserves -- preserves that are well-managed. is seen as acean bank account where everybody withdraws but nobody makes a deposit.

in ring research, our savings accounts with a principles set aside that produces interest it we can enjoy. protecting the special resources is not a technical problem after all. the science is clear and so are the economic benefits. what we need now is political will. scientists can only do so much. conservation organizations can only do so much. most able don't know how bad it is. when they find out, they don't know what to do. so your leadership will literally make a world of difference in working to create more marine reserves. your leaders in this room and all around the world have the authority to make this happen. we know what the benefits are. the more healthy and resilient the ocean will be, the more the

ocean will continue to provide these goods and services that make us healthier and richer[ap] . thank you very much. [applause] >> next, senate hearing on climate change. then, remarks by securities and exchange commission chairman harry jo white. after that, arden o'malley talking to democrats in iowa. >> another one was gruesome, but it was an international sensation. it was called the trunk murder. it was in 1885. there were two englishmen who came to america. they were traveling salesman. they meet on the boat and decide to go across america and they wind up together at a nice hotel here in st. louis called the southern. one of them was richer than the other. the poor guy suddenly had a lot of money flashing around. he tells everybody that is buddy

went out of town. the hotel room start smelling. change your mates -- the chambermaids go in and find out that the body is in the trunk dead for several days. the police try to start chasing him, but he has taken a ship from san francisco already. this becomes a big international case because you have two guys from england, you have st. louis and the manhunt to the other end of the world, and the new zealand police stopped him. two officers from st. louis actually went to get them. took them 10 weeks for the round-trip. trainey come back to the station downtown, half of st. louis is there to see this guy. and he windslore up being hanged. we used to have a gallows at the police headquarters like a lot of towns did. >> we will look at the history and literary life of st. louis

missouri, today at 2:00 a.m. c-span three. >> former republican epa administrators testified on capitol hill wednesday on steps needed to address climate change. williamm todd whitman, reilly, lee thomas and william ruckelshaus were invited to testify about why climate change transcends political affiliation. this is two hours 20 minutes. >> good morning, all. the hearing of the subcommittee on clean air and nuclear will come to order. we will have opening statements from the members limited to five minutes each, followed by

introduction and swearing in of the witnesses followed by the testimony of the witnesses. i know that ranking member sessions will be joining us lately. i want to thank him and members of the subcommittee and our witnesses for being here today to discuss the need to act on carbon pollution and climate change. we are privileged to have before our subcommittee for former administrators of the environmental protection agency. all of them solve contentious environmental problems during their 10 years working for republican presidents. now they're banding together to bring attention to the biggest environmental threat of all, climate change. in a new york times op-ed written last year that i would like to enter into the record without objection, these former administrators stated, we have a message that transcends political affiliation.

the united states must move now on substantive steps to curb climate change. at home and internationally. 4 in a large choir of voices singing the same tune on this issue. major corporations are concerned about climate change and have already starting -- started reducing their own emissions. the climate declaration signed by more than 700 50 companies, including nameplate american brands like ebay, cap, levi's, l'oreal, mars, nike and starbucks. the declaration states in part -- we cannot risk are kid's futures on the false hope that the vast majority of scientists are wrong. leading is what we have always done. by working together regardless of politics, we will do it again. -- il let our copy of that

will enter that copy of the declaration without objection. national defense leaders have found the alarm that climate change is a serious national security threat. there are also scientists, outdoorsmen, faith leaders, state and local officials and countless others demanding action. i understand that many of my colleagues are from states that depend on fossil fuels and how fossil fuel economies. they want to protect jobs in those industries. i get that and it is proper. i also ask that they look at the other side of the ledger, the side of the ledger that affects states like rhode island. our site of the ledger includes costs like damage to coastal homes, infrastructure and businesses from rising seas, erosion and storm surge. hospitalizations and missed school and work days for the

families of kids suffering from asthma attacks triggered by smog . forests dying from b lind for station and destroyed by unprecedented wildfire seasons. worsening -- by worsened drought and flooding. our side of the ledger accounts o. don't pretend we don't exist. the epa used its clean air act authority is established by congress and affirmed by the supreme court to propose carbon pollution standards for the country's existing power plants. as proposed, the rule will reduce carbon pollution while providing as much as $93 billion in public benefits are your by 2030. chart,can see from this a recent washington post abc news poll found that 70% of the public supports federal standards to limit greenhouse

gas pollution. i'm not sure if it is clear, but the rightmost bar is republicans, who overwhelmingly support our plan regulation. justice morning, the wall street journal and nbc news released polling data saying two thirds of americans support president obama's new climate rule, at more than half say the u.s. should address global warming, even if it means higher electric ills. -- effects of climate change even if it means higher electric bills. what you think will happen when a hurricane as powerful as a devastating hurricane of 1938 rolls into the shores of rhode island on seas that are 10 inches higher? louisiana is losing a foot all field of wetlands every hour, due in part to sea level rise. sea level rises up five inches along the alabama coast between

1966 and 2006. that is five more inches of ocean to batter mobile bay during storms. then there is florida, ground zero for climate change. in october of 2012, streets and homes were flooded, but not because of a storm. it all happened on a beautiful sunny day. it was just extreme high tides pushed into the town by sea level rise. climate change is a challenge. you have a solid duty -- we have a solemn duty to solve. the committee has much to learn from the collective experience from the former administrators as we address this american challenge. soent over the minutes senator vitter will have an extra minute. >> if i can make it unanimous consent request. we have at least eight empty chairs in the room. there are plenty of folks outside, many of whom have traveled a long distance to be year. we also have standing room, so i would like to make the unanimous

consent request that at least 10 or 12 more folks be let in for this important discussion. >> i would be happy to allow folks to be let into the extent that there are empty chairs that aren't reserved for anyone. we will at the committee sort that out. >> let me sort that out. >> some aren't here, -- of the people are here is your witnesses. >> we will keep the witnesses seats open. >> i think that is permission for about 10 other folks come in , thank you. the science and economic consequences and legal underpinnings of the epa's actions to advanced presidents climate action plan are topics he administration does not want to discuss in detail, however,

their unilateral actions will increase america's electricity bills, decrease families disposable income, and result in real job losses for little or no measurable impact on our ever-changing climate. on june 2, epa proposed an unprecedented rule targeting our country's electricity system. using a provision in the clean air act that has only been used five times in 40 years, epa requires states to set performance standards that apply to the entire electricity system , mandating renewable energy and rationing energy on which families and businesses rely. epa argues that this rule is a gift to states and provides states with flexibility. in reality, that is a complete red herring. states are forced into achieving questionable emission reduction targets from a limited menu of economically damaging and legally questionable options. states are left little choice

but to join or create regional cap and trade programs which achieves the ministrations goals of making sure we all pay more for energy. electricity prices right now in the regional greenhouse gas initiative states in california are 45% higher than in my home state of louisiana. of louisiana families are to 21% of theirage of after-tax income on energy. they cannot afford the higher electricity bills that will inevitably result from this rule. the rule is billed as climate change mitigation with america leading the way. unfortunately, anyone who has actually read the six and 45 -- thell find it has no will find out that

it comes from double accounting reductions of other omissions already regulated through other measures. this administration expects other governments to consider the global consequences of their greenhouse gas emissions when regulating, there is absolutely no reason to presume the world's biggest emitters will follow us down this path of economic destruction. in fact, much of the world is changing course. our friends in europe have adopted similar carbon constraining frameworks several years ago, filled with government mandates and cronyism and were rewarded with harsh economic ane. in an effort to recover, germany has -- germany is lifting its ban on fracking and increasing the use of coal. spain is abandoning the handouts that supported its renewable energy program. instead of embracing our domestic energy resources and the bright economic life they provide in an otherwise were economy, this climate action -- moves usf the on

beyond cold and national gas with serious negative consequences. today, the american electricity system provides an affordable, reliable power 70's a week, three under 65 days a year to families, schools, hospitals and businesses. the existing source rule as proposed will increase costs to all consumers significantly. as always, that is a special hash that especially its the poor, the elderly, those on fixed incomes for no measurable effect on climate change. in reality, this rule is essentially a federal takeover of the american electricity system. is everyone here really comfortable with epa being fully and completely responsible for all of those details of our electricity system. the only thing missing from this strategy is an empty promise from the president. if you like your affordable energy, you can keep your

affordable energy. we like it, we want to keep it. this rule will destroy it. thank you, mr. chairman. >> iq, senator vitter. -- thank you, senator vitter. i am very honored to have here today great leader in this effort, barbara boxer. >> thank you, senator. we are joined by an extra ordinary panel and i thank all of you for being here. r formerooking at fou administrators of the epa. this is historic. they were appointed by republican presidents. lee thomas served under president reagan. the honorable william reilly served under president george w. bush, h w bush and the honorable christine todd whitman served under president george w. bush. i am proud that our landmark environmental laws were created

with an overwhelming bipartisan consensus. it saddens me more than i can ever express in words that protecting the environment at this federal level has become an out and out passed by the house and signed by president nixon. revisions to the clean air passed by a vote of 89-11. and we -- and was signed into law by president george h.w. bush. in the last congress, the republicans sent us anti-clean. to they are working on plans overturn the action plan to cut back on carbon pollution.

we all should know that we need to take action to reduce harmful carbon pollution. 97% of scientists agree it is leading to dangerous climate change that threatens our families. to say we cannot have an opinion haveme of my colleagues done is because they are not scientist at your heard them say it. speaker boehner said it. he said i am not a scientist and i cannot say whether it is climate change. directors willa testify about the need to avoid the clematis impacts including rising sea levels and disruptions.

the american people certainly understand this threat. you saw the polls. it is extraordinary. hopkins,, rep independents support the president's plan. republicans, independents support the president's plans. respected her work but you do. i want to say two things. of george w. jobs bush in the coal industry and the number of jobs under president obama and the coal industry. more jobs under president obama. there's a lot of talk and a lot of times we do not look at the facts. i will put this in the record with your permission. i want to say i live through this fear mongering about jobs. 1970 and 2011, passed the clear act, people were shouting, you are a job killer.

what happened? air pollution dropped to 68%. held oner families' the gross domestic product grew. increased byr jobs 80% during the same period. listen. the scare tactics come there been tribal form and they are just not there -- the scare tactics, they have been tried before and they are just not there. if you look at the just created as we move to clean energy, it is very encouraging. for 40% ofs account carbon pollution released into the air. right now, there are no limits that can be released from those power plants. the president's plan, this is what it will do, it will employ up to 6600 or which were deaths. 3300 heart attacks. to date hundred hospital visits

-- 2800 hospital visits. i ask you am a would you go home, you speak to kids, ask them how many have asthma? half of the kids will raise their hands. why would you attack a plan that would avoid so many heart attacks, asthma attacks? tois not in america's dna turn a problem into an opportunity. let's do it. i will so you like many other jobs, you cannot outsource putting a solar roof on a home. you cannot outsource putting a wind turbine into place. i want to thank the senator for his leadership. recognizew pleased to my friend from wyoming. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. wyoming. the most beautiful stay in the nation and i want to keep it

that way. i believe we have and can have a healthy environment and healthy economy at the same time and we need to do that by striking the right balance between the two. it is irresponsible to impose costly regulations without having real benefits. the cause of these regulations on families and communities are very real. the benefits are ill-defined, unknown, simply negligible. obama's new climate regulations which are at the heart of his climate action plan will harm our fragile american economy and thousands of people will lose their jobs. it will raise electricity prices and threaten reliability and undermine global competitiveness. higher energy costs will hurt lower income families and fixed income seniors the most leaving them less to spend on food and basic necessities. but thousands of unemployed will

suffer negative health impacts. hospitalty prices and visits will necessarily skyrocket. is it worth subjecting many in our country to a dramatically toer cost of life essentially nationalize our electricity grid? based on the facts, i would say absolutely not. itre been told by the u.n. epa it will cause impacts across the globe. the president put forth his climate action plan. his plan is twofold. first have the u.s. nationalize our electric grid as he tried with our health care system and nationalizing our electric get the -- grid means taking decisions out of the hands of states, the communities and putting it in the hands of washington bureaucrats. in whole or part of state energy plans for reducing

carbon emission and imposing their own plans under the epa's proposed regulation for coal-fired power plants. it will cost thousands of jobs and the public's health and well-being. the second part is to have a belief he can arrive in paris in 2015 at the you and climate conference and convince the world to follow his lead. the whole plan hinges on president obama foreign policy prowess. his foreign policy record is a series of empty threats, resets, miscalculations, and leave from -- and lead from behind failures in places like libya and now iraq. after all of those missteps, the president expects americans to believe in 2015, he can draw a red line and demand china and india stop burning fossil fuels.

even if the president was able to reach an agreement like the treaty of the 1990's, it would still has to be ratified by the senate. that treaty overwhelmingly failed in the senate. the president cannot deliver in paris as substantially as just subsequently in the congress and will be left with his domestic climate action plan. america's have been told by the that climate.n. change will cause a serious impacts into the future. the president'domestic action plan cannot on its own prevented these impacts from happening. according to our own u.s. secretary of state john kerry he to do "even as we strive better, we recognize no country can solve this problem alone. even if the u.s. is limited all of our domestic greenhouse gas

emissions." enough,"it would not be the rest of the world is feeling too much carbon pollution." it means the president plan onus on the does not reduce global temperatures or prevent any of the series impacts predicted by the u.n. or the epa. can't even make a dent. all the while, seniors on fixed incomes and families and children suffer high electricity bills, joblessness and poor health. pain and little game with what the president is proposing. thank you. >> thank you. thank you to the kindness of the senator. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman and your tireless efforts on this issue in organizing this very important hearing.

let me begin by expressing and i say this as somebody who may have the highest pro lever rate this prolabor rate -- prolabor rate. my friends on the other side, interest of the needs of low income people and working people and senior citizens. i would remind everyone that many of these folks have fought to cut social security and medicare and medicaid and opposed raising the minimum wage common rebuilding of our effort structure and put millions back to work -- rebuilding our infrastructure and putting millions back to work and sto. comes down to as a nation, we are going to listen to the science. when we build systems that cause

-- cost billions of dollars we take for granted the engineers know what they are talking about. when we invest in cancer nationalthrough the institute of health, we assume and believe that the doctors and scientists know which they are talking about. right now, we are in a strange moment in american history and that is while there are differences of opinion on labor issues and health care issues -- that is what happens year after year. we are in a strange moment. we have virtually an entire political party that is rejecting basic science. and the science is no longer invalid. who haveientists written in peer-reviewed journals say that climate change israel and significantly caused by human activity and is already causing devastating problems in

our country throughout the world. the newspapers reported in arizona they are worried about how things will get water because of the terrible problem we are seeing in the southwest. australia is burning out. disturbances and storms that have cost us billions of dollars. sea levels are rising. the great city of new orleans, new york city, boston. reason,ome stranger while we agree on science in almost every area of life, and area, it, -- in this is a hoax. it is something concocted by al gore or hollywood. i am very proud that today and i want to thank very much the panelists here especially the former epa administrators who were appointed by republicans, i thank you so much for being

here. while we tend to disagree on a million issues, we should not disagree on what scientists tell us. we should not disagree with scientists tell us we have a window of opportunity, 10 or 15 thing to turn this around. to lead the world, sure. john kerry said the rest of the world has to go forward but somebody has to lead. when we lead in transforming away from fossil fuels, we create millions of jobs. through weatherization, energy efficiency, solar, geothermal, and other technologies out there. i very much want to thank the former republican administered for coming here to washington to republicanselligent all over this country, i am not a republican, my views are very different tom on this issue we can respect to science, the

planet and transform our system and most importantly, maybe espn of the day, we have a moral response -- may be at the end of the day, we have a moral responsibility. so our children and grandchildren can look up and say why didn't you do something? we have got to do something. and i thank you for being care. >> thank you, senator sanders. chris thank you and for holding the -- >> thank you and for holding the hearing. conducttant for us to oversight. we need to be hearing from maccarthy and epa and those who will be affected by the rule which include the consumers and andmanufacturers and miners others. we need the record to reflect the whole rule and we need to hear from the experts on electricity reliability. office,is time in

president obama has pursued a strategy for using the government to take over major sectors in the economy. he started with obamacare and nationalizing the health care system and went on to dodd frank making bank bailouts a permanent fixture. now we have the first round of a global warming regulations which andd nationalize the market make americans live out the president agreement dream. where the path leads. senator vitter covered this very well. fromare trying to get out under the mess they are in. we have germany and their cost per kilowatt hour has doubled if not triple what it is here in the united states all because of this grid our president is trying to put us on. because we have an abundance of true gas and water that is

, i am not naïve enough to believe that if the administration would stop with coal. saidy secretary recently that natural gas power plants would soon need carbon capture sequestration technology to comply with global warming rules. that will put them out of business. not as suggested the group that is here, not just cola but oil and gas and even nuclear under attack. electricityama's takeover will force americans to use less and less electricity at higher and higher prices. this agenda is clear. this ise asked that made a part of the record. tom stier has promised to put $100 million into the midterm elections to help the senate democrats get elected if they -- ait a global issue

national issue so it is not me saying that but tom. i do not have $100 million to give away but he does. i do ask that this be made a part of the record. >> reserving the right to object. chris and that israel -- >> and that is fine. chris i would like to enter into the record the fact that the koch brothers will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on this campaign trying to defeat it down. >> do you object? >> that is fine. by the way, leave the timer all. i have the greatest respect for senator sanders. we are totally different on our philosophies but we have respect for each other. this is just one of them. i think it's very important that we keep in mind there is a guy out of there -- on andtimer will go back both the documents will be put

in the record. >> would have felt global warming slumber parties and all that is going on. -- and we have had the global warming slumber parties and all of that is going on. the reason why people like tom have to do this because the american people do not want anything to do with this. about theans live impact of greenhouse regulation and the more it will have -- the gallup poll the just came out, they used to list global warming as number one and number two, do you remember that? of 15. is number 14 out the people have caught on to this. , theost important issue economy. we know previously, cap and trade is expected cost between $300 billion-$400 billion per year. mindhen we have to keep in

even if this were bright, even if they were able to do this, it would not reduce as one of the members said, it would not .educe the greenhouse gas lisa jackson, the director of , made theack obama statement as said it would not reduce. is in china and india and mexico and other places. something that would not achieve this benefit that did the other side thinks is there. it was a similar effect. jaybird of commerce estimated -- chamber of commerce estimated it would cost $51 billion and loss of gdp each year for the heritage foundation estimated decrease household income. these artifacts -- and these are the facts. let's keep in mind we are doing

this, they are trying to do this through regulation, obama is because he cannot do it legislation. we have had countless bills introduced to do the same thing a each time they are defeated larger and larger. , itink if no other reason has been rejected by the house and the senate. very significantly. why should we try to do something that to do something that the elected members of this body have rejected over and over again? thank you. >> we turn to senator carter. >> i thank you for your extraordinary leadership on this issue. you have been incredibly helpful to this country and the leadership you have taken particularly your comments before the united states senate. i want to start by thanking our panelists today what you have done to improve the public health, the people, and this

nation. your put public health first is that is what congress intended when it passed the clean air act and clean water act. votes,done by bipartisan the clean air act was enacted in 1970, bipartisan support by the members of congress and the house and senate and signed into law by president nixon. you have given us the bipartisan or nonpartisan foundation for us to have clean water and clean air and now we need to move forward in that tradition and unfortunately, we have not. and i hope we can go back to the same kind of spirit that inspired you to use your talent at each pa as we will -- at epa to advance the health of the people. 70 years ago when i was first elected to the senate, we had bipartisan numbers working together. i hope we can get back to that today and get to that bipartisan

coalition together. quite frankly, the solution is one in which will answer every member's concerns. yes, many of us, most of us are concerned about the environmental public health threat that climate change poses. i have the honor of representing the state of maryland and our greatest natural resources is chesapeake bay and we are doing a lot saw farmers have done a lot. our municipal governments have done a lot. we have worked with public and private sectors. a large part of the problem deals with climate change and rising sea levels. therefore, climate change affects the quality of life for the people of maryland. now, the scientific information is pretty clear on public health. 90 some percent of the of thefic -- 97%

scientific documents published show would've a series of threat would can do something about a need to take action. doctor and in 90 some percent of the opinion was that i had pneumonia and unless i took certain action i was risking my health am i would take action. that is what every person in this country. thes clear that overwhelming evidence that we need to take action in order to preserve public health, not just of america but globally and the future health of our climate. the good news is we do not have to get into debate with the other 3%. the solution to the problem of climate change not only means cleaner environment and savor and saferces -- circumstances but also helps our economy. mr.st pointed to maryland, chairman, we pass some of the toughest environmental laws and

we have done all of this and it created jobs. with the shade a number of jobs created. clean energy creates new jobs. we can show you the number of jobs created. helps nationalo security. we have talked about that. we have made progress and we are more energy security and we were a few years ago because we invest in cleaner energy sources to help support american , economy and environment. i can point also to the fact that from our security point of view many of our facilities are located on the coast. maryland, we are proud of the andl academy and the river indian head. all of those are threatened by increased sea level increases. it is in our interest to do this.

sickness is a need to exercise leadership. president obama is doing that. -- the united states needs to exercise leadership. we have seen our president provide the leadership and it has made a huge difference. it is time for congress to step up and join the president so that america can be an later in dealing with this global problem that affects the security of our own country in future of our global. vix thank you, senator. our distinguished ranking member. he has allowed us to keep the existing order. i will recognize senator bozeman. >> thank you. it is good to see the miners here. one topic we are hearing is the 97% consensus among scientists. ask wherertant to this 97% number comes from and

what does it mean? scientists question the level certainly behind specific climate change scenarios. others have shown gas and their knowledge and others have raise questions regarding the reliability of climate models and scientists who raise any of these issues can still be counted as a 97%. anyone who raise a question or disagrees with the left wing a look position is , held by the scientists as we're hearing today. this is clearly not true. again, what does this number mean? the statistic comes from review of literature published. position onfound a warming and 97.1% endorsed the

consensus position that humans are causing global warming. basically, if anyone agrees with aman activities, that's pretty broad definition. policymakers who disagree with expensive a big government policies my still actually agreed with the 97% consensus. scientists who question important elements are included in the number. for example, last year, this committee received testimony from a climatologist to give an idea, he published a book titled "the great global warming leads tohow hysteria bad science." position,outspoken the 90ncer's comments on some percent statistic are noteworthy. he testify and i quote "the fact

i believe some of it is human caused makes me in the 90's & of researchers -- 97% of researchers. the statement is not see us since it probably -- noxius since it probably includes all the scuffed is working in the field." if terms, the 97% statistic is a misleading tactic statistic.tics -- and will not change the global climate. 70 s i am not a scientist and i spent most -- much of my life working with the scientific community. and i said before, there's nothing scientific about people who resent conflicting evidence.

call it tensions that no one has a- monopoly on facts. the bottom line is this we must as whether these policies are worth the loss of jobs and less take-home pay and higher prices and higher food prices and so on. the president wants to set his climate policies will make the -- said histricity climate policy will make the calls of electricity skyrocket agree. hurting american workers and eating -- [indiscernible]

i think our witnesses. >> i will turn to senator gillibrand. >> thank you. the need to act on climate continue to raise the urgency of this issue. i am deeply grateful for your leadership and continued focus on how important it is for our families and country. lima change israel and here and humans have a role to play. real ande change is here and humans have a role to play. that luxury in new york. in my state, we are seeing a changing climate every day. 2.5 years ago, superstorm sandy devastated coastal new york and connecticut and rhode island and its effects were long felt on the entire atlantic coast. that was just two years aft