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An Examination of the Impacts of Global Warming on the Chesapeake Bay

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An Examination of the Impacts of Global Warming on the Chesapeake Bay S. HRG. 110–1176 AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON THE CHESAPEAKE BAY HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gpo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 73–572PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION BARBARA BOXER, California, Chairman MAX BAUCUS, Montana JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey DAVID VITTER, Louisiana BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming1 BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri BETTINA POIRIER, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel ANDREW WHEELER, Minority Staff Director 1Note: During the 110th Congress, Senator Craig Thomas, of Wyoming, passed away on June 4, 2007. Senator John Barrasso, of Wyoming, joined the committee on July 10, 2007. (II) CONTENTS Page SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 OPENING STATEMENTS Boxer, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from the State of California ....................... 1 Warner, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia ........... 1 Inhofe, Hon. James M., U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma ................... 4 Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland .............. 6 WITNESSES Mikulski, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland .................. 11 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 12 Webb, Hon. James, U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia ............ 14 Gilchrest, Hon. Wayne T., U.S. Representative from the State of Maryland ... 15 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 17 Kaine, Hon. Timothy M., Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia ............... 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 O’Malley, Hon. Martin, Governor of the State of Maryland ................................ 23 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 24 Baker, William C., president, Chesapeake Bay Foundation ................................ 34 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 35 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Cardin .......................................................................................... 38 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 39 Pyke, Christopher R., member, Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee; fellow, Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s Center of Coastal Resources Management ......................................... 40 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 42 Response to an additional question from Senator Cardin ............................ 45 Boesch, Donald F., president, University of Maryland Center for Environ- mental Science ...................................................................................................... 46 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 48 Responses to additional questions from Senator Cardin ............................... 54 Avery, Dennis T., senior fellow, Hudson Institute; director, Center for Global Food Issues ........................................................................................................... 57 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 59 Responses to additional questions from Senator Inhofe ............................... 63 Schnare, David W., senior fellow for Energy and the Environment, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy ................................................................... 64 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 65 Responses to additional questions from Senator Inhofe ............................... 72 Supplemental to prepared statement ............................................................. 151 Edmund, Richard, pastor, United Methodist Churches of Smith Island, MD .... 73 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 75 Responses to additional questions from Senator Cardin ............................... 76 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statement, Chesapeake Bay Commission, Climate Change and Chesapeake Bay: A Summary of Management Issues ........................................................... 146 (III) IV Page Reports: The Chesapeake Bay and Global Warming, A Paradise Lost for Hunters, Anglers, and Outdoor Enthusiasts .............................................................. 88 Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Saving a National Treasure, Climate Change and the Chesapeake Bay: Challenges, Impacts, and the Mul- tiple Benefits of Agricultural Conservation Work ...................................... 128 Article, BBC News, Greenland Ice Swells Ocean Rise ......................................... 107 Paper, The Incredible Economics of Geoengineering, Scott Barrett, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, March 18, 2007 ....................................................................................................................... 109 Chart, Spring SST Estimates at Chesapeake Bay for 2000 Years ...................... 150 AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. The full committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:34 a.m. in room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Barbara Boxer (chair- man of the full committee) presiding. Present: Senators Boxer, Inhofe, Cardin, Warner, Whitehouse. Also present, Senators Mikulski and Webb. STATEMENT OF HON. BARBARA BOXER, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Senator BOXER. We call the Committee to order. We welcome our honored guests. I know that Senator Warner has to go down to the Floor and work on the defense bill. He is going to come back as soon as he possibly can, but in deference to his schedule, I would ask if he would like to make his remarks before Senator Inhofe and I do. Senator WARNER. I thank you, Madam Chairman. Senator BOXER. Certainly. Senator WARNER. Then I shall return to this hearing quite promptly. STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN WARNER, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA Senator WARNER. I am privileged this morning, together with my colleague Senator Webb, to introduce our distinguished Governor, Governor Kaine, who I have worked with now these several years. It has been my privilege in the 29 years I have been in this institu- tion to work with 10 Virginia Governors. I would say that this one is fast achieving the role of being at the top of his class. He has a heartfelt concern about the issues surrounding global climate changes, the mysteries and what is known in this area. He is pro- ceeding to lead our State to take an important position, along with other States I hope, as we begin to go into the world of the un- knowns and try and do what we can at this point in America’s his- tory to hopefully join other nations to achieve a measure of global warming recognition and action. Under your leadership, as you know, Senator Lieberman and I have a bill that will soon come before this Committee. But on this subject, I would like to first mention that it has been my privilege to work on the issues of the Chesapeake Bay for many years. I (1) 2 harken back to two great Senators, Senator Matthias and Senator Paul Sarbanes and I and others who initiated the earliest legisla- tion with regard to the Chesapeake Bay. We went in there with the best of intentions, and laid a foundation legislatively. I think collec- tively the several States that border the Bay have begun to pull their fair share of the load and responsibility, together with the Federal Government, but it has to be a joint project. This magnificent bay is absolutely essential to our ecosystem, and also we must be concerned about a part of the real estate of our great commonwealth, Virginia, which borders the Bay and could be subjected, the Tidewater region, to severe damage if in the future years there is a significant rise in the water levels world- wide. I believe our territory—and the Governor will go into details on this—is one of the lowest of any major city throughout certainly the United States. So we are anxious to hear from Governor Kaine when his time comes, and thank you, Madam Chairman and the Ranking Mem- ber, for allowing me to make a few remarks. I will return as quick- ly as I can.
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