Prevailing theories on climate change have generally held that the climate responds to rising carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by gradually growing warmer. A growing body of scientific evidence, however, suggests that the climate does not respond to change gradually, but instead in sudden jumps.
"We have found startling evidence that the climate has jumped from one regime to another almost as if it were at the flick of a switch in planetary terms," said Professor George Denton of the University of Maine. "Twelve thousand years ago, the climate suddenly dropped 15 degrees within a decade. Many hundreds of years later, it switched back. Clearly such a change could be devastating to human populations. We need to figure out what caused these changes and whether or not they could occur again."
The University of Maine's Climate Change Institute is home to one of the most expert climate change research programs in the world. On abrupt climate change, they're simply the best. By looking at ice cores and changes in the jet stream, they've made discoveries that change the way scientists all over the world think about climate change. Researchers at the Institute have presented convincing evidence that the world has gone through shifts in climate so intense that they've literally wiped out civilizations. When you start thinking about sudden and dramatic swings in the climate, instead of a gradual warming, the phrase "climate change" takes on a new sense of urgency.
One hallmark of the University's outstanding climate change efforts is its ice core research program. The program provides crucial information for climate change researchers. Unfortunately, numerous glaciers around the world are melting, and when they go, we lose the very record that has given us so much of the history regarding past changes in climate. The data that analysis of ice cores provides are vital for scientists' ability to understand the past and, therefore, to predict the future. When the future is the condition of our climate, the stakes could not be higher.
That is why I am introducing the Abrupt Climate Change Research Act of 2003, which addresses the threat of abrupt climate change. My bill would provide $60 million for the United States to conduct research into abrupt climate change. The University of Maine would lead this program in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The National Academy of Sciences report urged that a new research program be initiated to identify the likelihood and potential impact of a sudden change in climate in response to global warming. According to the report, "At present, there is no plan for improving our understanding of the issue, no research priorities have been identified, and no policy-making body is addressing the many concerns raised by the potential for abrupt climate change." It is my hope that my legislation will serve as the catalyst to begin the hard work to help us understand the nature of abrupt climate change and take concrete steps to address the threat it poses.
I hope to secure broad bipartisan support for my bill. Last year, I offered a similar proposal as an amendment to the Energy Bill, and it was adopted and passed the Senate as part of the broader energy legislation. Moreover, I was able to meet with the chief White House representative on the issue of climate change research earlier this year. In our meeting, I told him that we need to know more about the potential risks of abrupt climate change research, and he agreed. I hope that my colleagues and the Administration will join me in supporting this initiative, which is important not only to the University of Maine, but which also has profound implications for our ability to predict and combat abrupt– and potentially catastrophic – changes in our climate and thus our way of life.