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Senator King Responds to Sumner Science Student Letters

Added May 24, 2018 •

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Students in Mrs. Long's and Ms. Forni's science classes sent letters to our senators and representatives expressing concern about the effects of climate change on our state and the Gulf of Maine--especially the lobster industry. Senator Angus King taped a video response where he mentioned several students by name.

Show Transcript

I get thousands of emails and letters a week from all over man and indeed all over the country but some letters I got recently from you in the town of Sullivan stood out because do I have some really good questions about climate change and its effects on man climate change is real there is no doubt about it in fact I read that this past April just a month ago is the 400 warmest month on record in other words for the past 400 months each month April of 2018 for example was warmer than April of 2017 going all the way back is a serious issue confronting our state and it's not just about a sort of abstract concern for the environment this is practical and you know where you live how real it can be we're talk think about sea level rise and particularly were talking about effects on Lobster and other shellfish and other fish in the Gulf of Maine the fact is that the man is warming up faster than 99% of the other water bodies on Earth the only area of the in the whole planet that's warming up faster than the Gulf of Maine is the Arctic Ocean just to our North so we're seeing effects of global climate change most dramatically in the Gulf of Maine and also interior in Maine where we're seeing change in insect species in tree species and the overall effect of the environment of our stay but to go back to the Gulf of Maine here's what's concerning and it's not only warm water it's acidic water as we increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere it ends up being absorbed to a large extent in the ocean which changes it into carbonic acid which makes the ocean more acidic which makes it harder for shellfish to form their shells for example just south of you in the Damariscotta River is one of the great oyster Farms oyster growing areas in the country but the oyster Farmers there are have learned that they have to incubate their baby oysters the smallest ones on Shore in tanks with us some special suffering because of the acidity in the Damariscotta River then you can put them back in the river and they grow to full sized but if you think about that that is a very serious change in our environment that's already having a practical effect and of course Lobster 80% of the value of Fisheries in Maine is lobster we are very dependent on this one species and the concern is that the warmer water and the change in the what are chemistry is encouraging and moving the lobsters north and east 25 or 30 years ago there was a big lobster fishery in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that is now essentially all gone some Lobster fisherman out of Massachusetts and New Hampshire but they got Goat as they have to go away offshore what's happening in man is the center of gravity of lobstering as generally and slowly moved north and east down the and this is of great concern to us if that continues so that brings us to the question of what do we do about it and there's a lot of things we can do about it but one of the most important things is to stop burning how to stop using fossil fuel because that's putting new carbon that's been underground for millions of years into the atmosphere and that's the fundamental cause of global climate change so renewable energy is one of the most important things we can do now I want to mention some of the people that have written in and and you're the people that you're talk about Chad Pomeroy for example talked about Renewables you're right a great Keenan brought up the whole issue of lobster and the effect and how the the decline of a lobster industry if it occurs along the Maine Coast would be absolutely devastating la'el each also said the same sing about the possible I'll decline of the lobster in Industry Malcolm Perry the fisherman in training we have to be thinking about training training the next generation of of the people in fishing weather lobstering or aquaculture or other parts of developing the assets of the of the of the Gulf of man and then Sage Levitt talked about sea level rise Sage that that's going to come we don't know whether it's going to be 2 ft 3 ft as much as 6ft by the end of the century go down and look around on the waterfront near where you are and think about what's the impact of that will be particularly bring a storm surge or a storm right now the estimate is 1 foot 2 3 ft I talk to scientists who tell me they think that's way too conservative at it could be double that and that we are in an accelerating time of sea level rise I've been to Greenland I've seen the rate at which the Greenland ice shelf is melting and it's it's that is going to contribute significantly to sea level rise around the world so you all are asking the right questions you're talking about the right answers and it's a it's fun for me to be able to to join you and respond to your to your letters and emails directly rather than just having to write something out thanks for what you're doing stay engaged this is an issue that government can't solve by itself it's going to take people like yourselves making changes in your daily life in your communities life and in the life of your state nation and indeed the world thanks what you're doing congratulations keep it up