[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
NATURE IN CRISIS:
BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ITS CAUSES
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 4, 2019
__________
Serial No. 116-24
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
36-504PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman
ZOE LOFGREN, California FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma,
DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois Ranking Member
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon MO BROOKS, Alabama
AMI BERA, California, BILL POSEY, Florida
Vice Chair RANDY WEBER, Texas
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania BRIAN BABIN, Texas
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas ANDY BIGGS, Arizona
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
KENDRA HORN, Oklahoma RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas
BRAD SHERMAN, California TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee PETE OLSON, Texas
JERRY McNERNEY, California ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida
PAUL TONKO, New York JIM BAIRD, Indiana
BILL FOSTER, Illinois JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington
DON BEYER, Virginia JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON, Puerto
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida Rico
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois VACANCY
KATIE HILL, California
BEN McADAMS, Utah
JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia
C O N T E N T S
June 4, 2019
Page
Hearing Charter.................................................. 2
Opening Statements
Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chairwoman,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of
Representatives................................................ 7
Written statement............................................ 8
Statement by Representative Frank Lucas, Ranking Member,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of
Representatives................................................ 9
Written statement............................................ 10
Witnesses:
Sir Robert Watson, Past Chair, Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Oral Statement............................................... 12
Written Statement............................................ 14
Dr. Kate Brauman, Coordinating Lead Author, IPBES Global
Assessment; Lead Scientist, Global Water Assessment, University
of Minnesota, Institute of the Environment
Oral Statement............................................... 32
Written Statement............................................ 34
Dr. James Porter, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, Emeritus,
University of Georgia, and Scientific Advisor, Chasing Coral
Oral Statement............................................... 42
Written Statement............................................ 44
Mr. Jeff Goodwin, Conservation Stewardship Lead and Agricultural
Consultant, Nobel Research Institute
Oral Statement............................................... 57
Written Statement............................................ 59
Dr. Steven Monfort, Director of the Smithsonian National Zoo and
Conservation Biology Institute
Oral Statement............................................... 65
Written Statement............................................ 67
Discussion....................................................... 77
Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Dr. James Porter, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, Emeritus,
University of Georgia, and Scientific Advisor, Chasing Coral... 110
Appendix II: Additional Material for the Record
Statements submitted by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson,
Chairwoman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S.
House of Representatives....................................... 114
Statement submitted by Representative Lizzie Fletcher, Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of
Representatives................................................ 125
Statement submitted by Representative Don Beyer, Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.. 128
NATURE IN CRISIS:
BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ITS CAUSES
----------
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019
House of Representatives,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
Washington, D.C.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in
room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Eddie
Bernice Johnson [Chairwoman of the Committee] presiding.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Johnson. This hearing will come to order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess
at any time. I want to say good morning, and welcome to today's
Full Committee hearing, entitled, ``Nature in Crisis:
Biodiversity Loss and its Causes''. I'd like to welcome our
distinguished panel of witnesses, and thank all of you for
joining us.
Today we have the opportunity to discuss an issue that
captivated the attention of the public and policymakers alike,
namely the alarming loss in biodiversity that is occurring
worldwide. As a matter of fact, I read a paper in France last
week on this very subject. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or the IPBES,
recently published a summary for policymakers (SPM) for its
first ever global assessment report. This intergovernmental
body, which is not a part of the United Nations, set out to
assess the state of biodiversity, its ecosystems, and the
essential services they provide to society. The global
assessment was prepared in advance of the upcoming UN
Convention on Biological Diversity scheduled for 2020. I'd like
to note that while we are primarily discussing the findings of
the summary for policymakers today, the draft chapters of the
full report were recently made publicly available. The final
report chapters will be released later this year, and they will
not differ from the findings in the summary for policymakers
that we are discussing this morning.
The findings of IPBES laid out are too stark to ignore. The
global assessment lays out the direct drivers of biodiversity
loss in the following order, from the greatest to least impact.
Changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms,
climate change, pollution, and invasive species. Though there
are many underlying causes for these direct drivers of change,
it is very clear that humans have had an outsized impact on our
surrounding environment. We've already discussed the impacts
that our change in climate is having on our oceans at our
Environmental Subcommittee hearing earlier this year, but
climate change as a driver of biodiversity loss also impacts
non-marine ecosystems. I look forward to hearing from each of
our witnesses about the real-world impacts of all of the
drivers of this biodiversity loss.
Much of the reporting on the global assessment is focused
on the devastating findings that almost one million species
could potentially go extinct in the next few decades. But we
would be remiss if we did not discuss what else the report lays
out, especially its recommendations for potential solutions and
pathways for addressing biodiversity loss. I hope today's
conversation with our witnesses will provide an opportunity to
further illuminate potential solutions we can utilize to
address the dangers highlighted in the global assessment.
Earlier this year, I introduced the Energy and Water
Research Integration Act, with my friend and colleague Ranking
Member Lucas, to address issues related to water conservation
and use in the process of the Department of Energy's research,
development, and demonstration activities. Cross-cutting
initiatives, like this bill, are clear examples of the role
that Congress, and especially this Committee, can play in
developing science-based solutions to our most pressing issues.
June is World Oceans Month, and this week in particular is
Capitol Hill's Oceans Week, or CHOW. I'm delighted that we have
Dr. Porter from the University of Georgia joining us today to
discuss the impacts of the drivers of biodiversity loss laid
out in the IPBES report on coral reefs, and the numerous
ecosystem services they provide. Later today the Committee will
be screening Chasing Coral, a film for which Dr. Porter was a
scientific expert. The screening is free and open to the
public, and I encourage everyone to come back and watch it.
After the screening, Dr. Porter will host a question and answer
session with the audience. I want to let everyone know that
this Thursday, June 6, the Committee will be hosting an Ocean
Exploration Expo to showcase ocean exploration technologies. I
again encourage members of the public, and any of my
colleagues, to join this Expo on Thursday. More important, more
information is available on our website. I would also like to
welcome back Sir Robert Watson, who previously testified before
our Committee over 20 years ago.
I am really looking forward to today's discussion to not
only better understand the findings of the IPBES Global
Assessment Report, but also identify knowledge gaps, understand
how best to implement the transformative changes recommended,
and determine our path forward with science-based solutions.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Chairwoman Johnson follows:]
Good morning. I would like to welcome our distinguished
panel of witnesses and thank them for joining us. Today we have
the opportunity to discuss an issue that has captivated the
attention of the public and policymakers alike, namely the
alarming loss in biodiversity that is occurring world wide.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, recently
published a summary for policymakers for its first ever Global
Assessment Report. This intergovernmental body, which is not a
part of the United Nations, set out to assess ``the state of
biodiversity, its ecosystems, and the essential services they
provide to society.'' This Global Assessment was prepared in
advance of the upcoming UN Convention on Biological Diversity
scheduled for 2020.
I would like to note that while we are primarily discussing
the findings of the summary for policymakers today, the draft
chapters of the full report were recently made publicly
available. The final report chapters will be released later
this year, and they will not differ from the findings in the
summary for policymakers we are discussing this morning.
The findings the IPBES laid out are too stark to ignore.
The Global Assessment lays out five direct drivers of
biodiversity loss in the following order from greatest to least
impact (1) Changes in land and sea use (2) direct exploitation
of organisms (3) climate change (4) pollution and (5) invasive
species. Though there are many underlying causes for these
direct drivers of change, it is very clear that humans have had
an outsized impact on our surrounding environment.
We have already discussed the impacts that a changing
climate is having on our oceans at an Environment Subcommittee
hearing earlier this year, but climate change as a driver of
biodiversity loss also impacts non-marine ecosystems. I look
forward to hearing from each of our witnesses about the real
world impacts of all of the drivers of biodiversity loss.
Much of the reporting on the Global Assessment has focused
on the devastating finding that almost one million species
could potentially go extinct in the next few decades. But, we
would be remiss if we did not discuss what else this report
lays out, especially its recommendations for potential
solutions and pathways to addressing biodiversity loss. I hope
today's conversation with our witnesses will provide an
opportunity to further illuminate potential solutions we can
utilize to address the dangers highlighted in the Global
Assessment.
Earlier this year I introduced the Energy-water nexus Act
with my friend and colleague, Ranking Member Frank Lucas, to
address issues related to water conservation and use in the
process of the Department of Energy's research, development,
and demonstration activities. Cross-cutting initiatives, like
this bill, are clear examples of the role that Congress, and
especially this Committee, can play in developing science-based
solutions to our most pressing issues.
June is world oceans month, and this week in particular is
Capitol Hill Oceans Week, or CHOW. I am delighted that we have
Dr. Porter from the University of Georgia joining us today to
discuss the impacts of the drivers of biodiversity loss laid
out in the IPBES report on coral reefs and the numerous
ecosystems services they provide.
Later today the Committee will be screening Chasing Coral,
a film for which Dr. Porter was a scientific expert. This
screening is free and open to the public and I encourage
everyone to come back and watch the film. After the screening,
Dr. Porter will host a question and answer session with the
audience. I also want to let everyone know that this Thursday,
June 6, the Committee will be hosting an Ocean Exploration Expo
to showcase ocean exploration technologies. I again encourage
members of the public, and any of my colleagues, to join this
expo on Thursday. More information is available on our website.
I would also like to welcome back Sir Robert Watson, who
previously testified before our Committee over 20 years ago.
I am really looking forward to today's discussion to not
only better understand the findings in the IPBES Global
Assessment report, but also identify to knowledge gaps,
understand how best to implement the transformative changes
recommended, and determine our path forward with science-based
solutions.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Johnson. I now ask Mr. Lucas for his statement.
Mr. Lucas. Madam Chair, thank you, and before starting my
statement, I'd like to take a second to recognize one of our
senior policy folks, Ben Traynham, who's sitting up here with
us. This is his last hearing before he leaves D.C. and returns
to Richmond, Virginia. Ben's moving home to practice law, to
grow his family, with their second daughter due this fall. I
want to thank Ben for his hard work. We'll miss that signature
bowtie, even if it is kind of un-Western Oklahomish, and we
wish you great success with your coming steps. So, thank you,
Madam Chair, for indulging me on that courtesy.
Now, Madam Chair, thank you for holding this hearing, and
providing a platform to hold constructive dialog on this issue.
I'm going to read it one time, and here ever after I'm going to
refer to it as the report, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services' Global
Assessment Report on Diversity in Ecosystems is a 1,700-page
report that was just released yesterday morning. I'll be the
first to admit to you that I have not read the complete report,
and I admire any of my colleagues who have found time to do so.
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the report's summary
for policymakers. And while I welcome today's discussion, I'd
be remiss if I didn't say maybe waiting a week or so, a little
time to read it in full, and understanding of the process,
would've been useful, but those conclusions will serve us
nonetheless.
With what is being said, I look forward to a productive
discussion on how we can use innovation to combat the most
pressing changes in global biodiversity. Biodiversity, or the
variability of species in ecosystems, plays a significant role
in all aspects of human wellbeing. It's particularly important
to agricultural producers, who lead a system that feeds and
clothes billions of people every day. The report ranks land and
sea use at the top of their five biggest drivers of change in
nature, and concludes that agricultural expansion is the most
widespread form of land use change. This expansion of
agricultural land is a direct result of the need to feed the
growing population.
The global population is on track to reach nearly 10
billion people by 2050, and the UN Food and Agricultural
Association estimates that global food production will need to
double by that time. Now, that's why we must support innovation
and research that will help make food production more efficient
and environmentally beneficial. Increasing production, while
eliminating waste of all kinds, including land waste, is a goal
of any operation. The best way to accomplish this in
agriculture is utilizing modern science and conservation
principles, coupled with proven management practices.
The United States has been the model of conservation
through voluntary coordination and innovation, and we must
continue to carry that torch. Following the immense soil
erosion and drought of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, Federal,
State, and local governments partnered with producers to solve
the disaster. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration
initiated programs to conserve soil and restore the ecological
balance of the Nation, with producers leading the way. These
U.S. programs and institutions, that incentivize conservation,
have been incredibly successful, and are still in effect today.
We've also benefited from innovations like those of Nobel
Peace Prize recipient Dr. Norman Borlaug, who developed
varieties of semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat.
This variety's introduction in India and Pakistan during the
population boom of the 1960s is credited with starting the
Green Revolution, and saving up to one billion people from
starvation. There are even more exciting innovations on the
horizon. Genetic engineering, gene editing, have the potential
to produce plant varieties that require less land, less water,
less fertilizer, while increasing biodiversity. This next
generation of crop genetics are closer than we think, and
current investments in research will pay unmeasurable dividends
in the future.
One of our witnesses today, Dr. Jeff Goodwin, will discuss
efforts at the Nobel Research Institution to increase soil
health and productivity through improved land management
techniques. Mr. Goodwin will speak to voluntary agricultural
conservation practices led by producers that should serve as a
model for different industries. We've seen incredible success
from these industry-led efforts without resorting to burdensome
regulations.
In closing, I'd like to remind my colleagues of this
Committee's jurisdiction. This topic walks a fine line with the
Natural Resources Committee, so I encourage my colleagues focus
on research and innovation that can be used as solutions, not
the doom and gloom of predicting what might happen in the
future. Too often we are bogged down by the alarming negative
headlines that stem from these reports. What I see is another
opportunity to revolutionize. I see another opportunity for the
United States to show yet again we're the best in the world at
solving the daunting and complex problems we all face. I look
forward to hearing more on technological innovations and
environmental stewardship that looks to improve our critical
biodiversity, while promoting economic growth. Thank you, Madam
Chair, and I yield back the balance of my time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lucas follows:]
Thank you, Chairwoman Johnson, for holding this hearing and
providing a platform to hold constructive dialogue on this
issue.
The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services is a 1,700-page report that was just
released yesterday morning. I will be the first to admit I have
not read the complete report and I admire any of my colleagues
who found the time to do so. The purpose of this hearing is to
examine the report's Summary for Policymakers.
While I welcome today's discussion, I would be remiss if I
didn't say that waiting a week or two for time to read the full
report and understand the underlying process used to reach
conclusions would serve us better.
With that being said, I look forward to a productive
discussion on how we can use innovation to combat the most
pressing changes in global biodiversity.
Biodiversity, or the variability of species and ecosystems,
plays a significant role in all aspects of human well-being.
It's particularly important to agricultural producers who lead
a system that feeds and clothes billions of people every day.
The IPBES report ranks land and sea use at the top of their
five biggest drivers of change in nature and concludes that
agricultural expansion is the most widespread form of land use
change. This expansion of agricultural lands is a direct result
of the need to feed the growing population.
The global population is on track to reach nearly 10
billion people by 2050, and the UN Food and Agriculture
Association estimates that global food production will need to
double by that time. That is why we must support innovation and
research that will make food production more efficient and
environmentally beneficial.
Increasing production while eliminating waste of all kinds,
including land waste, is the goal of any operation. The best
way to accomplish this in agriculture is utilizing modern
science and conservation principles coupled with proven
management practices.
The United States has been the model of conservation
through voluntary coordination and innovation, and we must
continue to carry that torch. Following the immense soil
erosion and drought of the Dust Bowl, federal, state, and local
governments partnered with producers to solve the disaster.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration initiated
programs to conserve soil and restore the ecological balance of
the nation. With producers leading the way, these U.S. programs
and institutions that incentivize conservation have been
incredibly successful and are still in effect today.
We have also benefited from innovations like those of Nobel
Peace Prize recipient Dr. Norman Borlaug, who developed
varieties of semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat.
This variety's introduction to India and Pakistan during the
population boom of the 1960s is credited with starting the
Green Revolution and saving up to 1 billion people from
starvation.
There are even more exciting innovations on the horizon.
Genetic engineering and gene editing have the potential to
produce plant varieties that require less land, water, and
fertilizer all while increasing biodiversity. This next
generation of crop genetics are closer than we think and
current investments in research will pay unmeasurable dividends
in the future.
One of our witnesses today, Mr. Jeff Goodwin, will discuss
efforts at the Nobel Research Institute to increase soil health
and productivity through improved land management techniques.
Mr. Goodwin will speak to voluntary agricultural
conservation practices led by producers that should serve as a
model for different industries. We've seen incredible success
from these industry-led efforts without resorting to burdensome
regulations.
In closing, I would like to remind my colleagues of this
Committee's jurisdiction. This topic walks a fine line with the
Natural Resources Committee, so I encourage my fellow Members
to focus on research and innovation that can be used as
solutions, not the doom and gloom of predicting what might
happen in the future.
Too often we are bogged down by the alarmingly negative
headlines that stem from these reports. What I see is another
opportunity to revolutionize. I see another opportunity for the
United States to show yet again that we are the best in the
world at solving the daunting and complex problems we all face.
I look forward to hearing more on technology innovations
and environmental stewardship that looks to improve our crucial
biodiversity while promoting economic growth. Thank you Madam
Chair and I yield the balance of my time.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much, Mr. Lucas. If
there are Members who wish to submit additional opening
statements, your statements will be added to the record at this
point. At this time I'd like to introduce our witnesses.
Sir Robert Watson served as the IPBES Chair from 2015 to
2019. He is a leader in the field of environmental science, and
has spent much of his distinguished career focusing on the
impacts human activity has had on Earth. Currently, Dr. Watson
is Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of
East Anglia in Norwich, England. He also serves as Director of
Strategic Development of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change
Research at the University.
Dr. Kate Brauman is a coordinating lead author for the 2019
IPBES Global Assessment. Dr. Brauman also served as a lead
scientist for the Global Water Initiative at the University of
Minnesota, Institute on the Environment.
Dr. James Porter is an Emeritus Professor at the University
of Georgia, Odum School of Ecology. Dr. Porter's research
focuses on coral reef ecology and conservation, as well as
marine life ecosystems.
Mr. Jeff Goodwin is a conversation stewardship leader and a
pasture and range consultant at the Nobel Research Institute
based in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Prior to his current position, Mr.
Goodwin worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural
Resources Conservation Service, for nearly 14 years.
Last, we have Dr. Steven Monfort. Dr. Monfort is Director
of the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology
Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public
Policy, as well as a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine.
Our witnesses should know that you each have 5 minutes for
your spoken testimony. Your written testimony will be included
in the record for the hearing. When all of you have completed
your spoken testimony, we will begin with questions. Each
Member will have 5 minutes to question the panel.
We will start with Dr. Watson.
TESTIMONY OF SIR DR. ROBERT WATSON,
PAST CHAIR, INTERGOVERNMENTAL SCIENCE-POLICY
PLATFORM ON BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Dr. Watson. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Members of the
Committee. I really appreciate the opportunity to provide this
testimony, which is indeed based on the IPBES Global Assessment
of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. As Madam Chair said,
IPBES is an intergovernmental body, but it is independent of
the United Nations. The assessment was prepared by 450
scientists. We used 15,000 sources of information, and received
15,000 comments during two rounds of expert and government peer
review. The chapters and the SPM are now all available on the
IPBES website.
Biodiversity, which is critical to human wellbeing,
provides food, as indeed has been mentioned already, fiber,
water, energy, and medicines. It regulates our climate, our
air, our water pollution, storm surges, floods, and
pollination, and has significant cultural and social value.
Biodiversity is currently being lost at a rate unprecedented in
human history, primarily driven by changes in land and sea use,
and direct exploitation of organisms, and, to a lesser extent,
to date, by climate change, pollution, and invasive alien
species. These all result from increases in the number of
humans and per capita consumption, trade, technological
innovations, and governance systems, local to global. These
losses in biodiversity are undermining human wellbeing,
especially the regulating and cultural services.
While climate change has not been the dominant driver in
the loss of biodiversity to date in most parts of the world, it
is projected to become as important, or potentially more
important, than other drivers of change in the coming decades.
Climate change is already adversely affecting genetic
variability, species richness, populations' composition and
distributions, and the boundaries, structure, and functioning
of ecosystems. These changes are evident and accelerating, in
marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems. Almost half of the
threatened terrestrial mammals, and one-quarter of threatened
birds, may already have been negatively affected by climate
change. In turn, biodiversity can adversely affect the Earth's
climate. For example, deforestation increases the atmospheric
abundance of carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, therefore
it's essential that we look at the issues of biodiversity and
climate change together.
In addition to transforming the way we produce and use
energy, there are many nature-based approaches that can be used
to adapt to, or mitigate, human-induced climate change. Large-
scale reforestation, ecosystem restoration. However, it is
important to recognize that some of the approaches that have
been suggested to limit human-induced climate change, such as
large-scale afforestation, and large-scale bioenergy, will
adversely affect biodiversity, and food and water security, if
natural vegetation, grasslands and forests, are replaced by
monoculture bioenergy crops. So we have to think through very
carefully how we use afforestation and bioenergy.
Loss of biodiversity, just like human-induced climate, is
not only an environmental issue, but it's an economic,
development, social, security, moral, and ethical issue. The
loss of biodiversity is projected to continue or worsen in many
future scenarios. Business as usual is not an option if the
world wants to conserve, and sustainably use biodiversity, and
meet sustainable and societal goals, such as food and water
security. Scenarios show that the impact of climate change is
projected to intensify with the degree of warming. For
instance, in a climate change risk assessment, 5 percent of
species are at risk at 2 degree warming, rising to 16 percent
with a 4.3 degree warming.
Current and future projected trends in biodiversity will
undermine many of the internationally agreed Aichi biodiversity
targets. They will undermine the sustainable development goals,
all 17 of them, and it will undermine the Paris agreement on
climate change. And, in particular, it will threaten poverty,
hunger, human health, water, cities, and life on land.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to close my remarks.
Madam Chair, apologies.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Watson follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Now we'll have Dr.
Brauman.
TESTIMONY OF DR. KATE BRAUMAN,
COORDINATING LEAD AUTHOR, IPBES GLOBAL ASSESSMENT,
LEAD SCIENTIST, GLOBAL WATER INITIATIVE,
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, INSTITUTE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Dr. Brauman. Madam Chair, Ranking Member Lucas, Members of
the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
This testimony is based on the global assessment of the
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services. As a coordinating lead author, I worked
with a team of experts synthesizing existing published research
on nature, and its very broad range of contributions to people.
It is a big report. In short, people depend on nature. The
deterioration of nature, species extinction, threatens the
benefits that nature provides, from our basic food supply, to
our very sense of selves. And most of these benefits, these
ecosystem services, are not fully replaceable. Some of them are
irreplaceable.
What do I mean by ecosystem services? Many of the material
goods on which we depend, including food, bioenergy, medicines,
other materials, come directly from nature. In addition, nature
underlies the production of those tangible goods, and, indeed,
our very life support systems on Earth. Nature plays a critical
role in cycling water, affecting climate, and protecting us
from natural hazards.
Nature offers more than this, however. Also critical to
human wellbeing are the intangible benefits that it provides.
Nature inspires science, technology, and art. It affects our
mental health, and it provides a sense of place. Here in
Washington, each spring the cherry blossoms bring joy and a
sense of international connection, not to mention tourist
dollars. In Minnesota, where I've made my home, our 10,000
lakes, and our pride in the boundary waters, are part of our
collective identity. Yet the Global Assessment establishes that
nature is in decline, so most of those benefits are declining
as well.
There are five main causes: Changes in land and sea use,
overutilization of plants and animals, climate change,
pollution, and invasive species. Land use change has been the
most important to date, largely because of its scale. Over the
past 50 years, raw timber harvest has increased by 45 percent,
and the value of agricultural crop production has increased
nearly threefold. Let there be no mistake, our transformation
of nature has been critical for both human nutrition and
livelihoods, but we also must be clear-eyed about the impact.
We have transformed the globe.
Today, over one-third of the terrestrial land surface is
used for cropping or livestock. Agriculture, alongside growing
urban areas, and expanding infrastructure, has transformed
forests, wetlands, and grasslands around the world. This has
led to declines in many ecosystem services, particularly those
that underpin the environmental processes, and those that
provide intangible benefits. For example, when we drain farm
fields, soils and plants can no longer hold water, and this
could exacerbate flooding downstream. Some of this we've seen
in the Midwest over the past several months. Excess fertilizer
causes toxic algal blooms, like the one that shut down Toledo's
water system in 2014, and causes dead zones in the Gulf of
Mexico.
These impacts are widespread and pervasive. In the Global
Assessment, we evaluated 18 categories of nature's benefits.
Globally, we find increases only in production of material
goods, goods whose value we already recognize. The majority of
nature's benefits are in decline, including processes affecting
air, water, and climate, as well as non-tangible benefits, such
as the diversity of life from which to learn. Overall, the
expansion of food, feed, fiber, bioenergy, has occurred at the
cost of many of these other benefits, and those burdens and
benefits are often distributed unequally across space and time,
and among different segments of society.
Agriculture is an example not just as a driver of
environmental change, it's also threatened by these,
particularly in the face of a changing planet. Healthy soils
are the basis of everything we grow, yet land degradation has
reduced productivity on 23 percent of global terrestrial area.
Bees are critically important to more than 75 percent of global
food crop types, including fruit, vegetables, and many cash
crops, yet they are also in decline, putting at risk as much as
577 billion in annual global crop output. This signals a threat
to our continued ability to grow food, and maintain productive
agricultural systems.
In addition, extinction threatens both wild and
domesticated food plants and animals, posing a serious risk to
global food security. Wild food relatives represent critical
reservoirs of genes and traits that may provide resilience
against future climate change, pests, and pathogens. Yet by
2016, domestic breeds of mammals used for food and agriculture,
close to 10 percent, are already extinct. Without soils, plants
can be grown hydroponically. Coastal flooding can be managed by
dykes and seawalls, but substitutes are frequently expensive,
and they incur high future costs. They cannot be the entirety
of our Plan B. Looking forward, we can promote solutions by
working with nature, and those solutions exist. Continued
research is necessary, but there is much that we can do today.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Brauman follows:]
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Chairwoman Johnson. Dr. Porter.
TESTIMONY OF DR. JAMES PORTER,
JOSIAH MEIGS PROFESSOR OF ECOLOGY, EMERITUS,
ODUM SCHOOL OF ECOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
Dr. Porter. And if we could have the first slide, please?
Thank you very much, Madam--Chairwoman Johnson, Ranking Member
Lucas, and Members of the Committee for inviting me here. I'll
make my introductory comments with a clip of film from Chasing
Coral playing in the background.
Coral reefs cover only 1 percent of the Earth's surface,
and yet within that 1 percent are 25 percent of all marine
plant and animal species. Coral reef generate $9.9 trillion per
year in economic benefit for 500 million people that depend on
them exclusively for their source of income, and for their
protein. In addition to that, coral reefs generate $24 billion
a year to Florida and Hawaii alone. And across coral reefs have
generated amazing new drugs from the sea. A new drug from last
year that reduces the risk of heart attack in elderly
Americans, another drug that cures prostate cancer, and a third
drug that is more powerful in killing the HIV virus than AZT.
It is an amazing cornucopia.
All of the ills that have been mentioned for other
ecosystems apply to coral reefs, including exploitation, and
also pollution of plastics, and invasive species, such as the
lionfish, which is from the Indo-Pacific, is now in the
Caribbean. But the key driver of diversity loss in the oceans
is, in fact, climate change. The reason for this is that corals
are only 2 degrees away from the high temperatures that kill
them. The irony is that, of the warming heat that has been
generated in the last 50 years, only 7 percent of that is in
the air. The remaining 93 percent of the heat is in the oceans.
The oceans have absorbed this heat. We know this because we
have indeed measured it. If the oceans had not been the Earth's
punching bag to take this heat, then the average temperature
outside this room today would be 122 degrees Fahrenheit. That
is the physics of what we are dealing with.
I'm going to show you two examples from coral reefs. First,
from Jamaica, this is a picture from 1976. This is what this
reef looks like today. You have a right to ask, is that from
the same place? I direct your attention to the boulder coral,
with the distinctive eye-spot, the lower right hand corner.
There it was before, here it is again. We are in the same
place. Now let us look for--closer to home, the Florida Keys.
In 1994, a coral reef off Key West. There it was before, and in
2004, the corals are going, going, gone. It does not matter
what place in the Florida Keys you go to, you get the same
result.
Seventy-five percent of all reefs in the Florida Keys have
fewer species now than they did before. In the upper right hand
coral--some coral species have gone extinct, and the branching
and elk horn corals that you see in the lower right, once the
commonest corals in the Caribbean, are now on the critically
endangered species list. This Committee deals with species,
but, on reefs, it's not just at the species level. The genus,
the family, the order, the class, all are at risk. A recent
paper in Science shows that 85 percent of the time that these
higher taxa appeared on this planet, they did so on coral
reefs, making them evolution's cradle, and also their museum.
The cradle to evolve new forms, the museum to retain them.
An example is from the class sponges. They have the miracle
that they can secrete their skeleton either out of calcium,
like you and me, or out of silicon glass. The last time a class
of organisms on this planet went extinct was 500 million years
ago, and within the next 50 years we can eliminate this class.
We are not only trimming the leaves, the species, we are
trimming the branches, the trunk, and the roots of the life on
this planet.
Climate change is the cause, and we are worried that in
2040 we are going to see a loss of coral reefs worldwide as
they bleach, and turn white, and die. But, if we were able to
reduce the amount of greenhouse gases through all the kinds of
technology's imaginable, we could take that 2040 away, and buy
coral reefs at least 100 years in which they might be able to
evolve thermal tolerance.
Seventy-five percent of the living coral in Florida has
died in the last 10 years. Sixty-six percent of all corals on
the Barrier Reef died in the last 2 years from climate change.
This Committee is about life on Earth. We can save the
biodiversity of the planet, but we must begin now. Thank you
for coming.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Porter follows:]
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Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. Goodwin?
TESTIMONY OF JEFF GOODWIN,
CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP LEAD AND
AGRICULTURAL CONSULTANT, NOBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Mr. Goodwin. Chairwoman Johnson, Ranking Member Lewis,
Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to
provide testimony on behalf of the Nobel Research Institute.
The recently published Global Assessment of the
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services discusses in depth the estimated projections
and global biodiversity loss and the perceived negative impacts
imposed by the agricultural industry. To the contrary, for more
than a decade a movement has been taking place in the ag
industry that is returning biodiversity to the land. A
significant number of farmers and ranchers, producers, across
the country, and around the world, are part of an agricultural
revolution, a regenerative revolution, focused specifically on
biological diversity, and building biologically active soils.
This movement, however, was not born out of legislation, or
regulatory requirement. It was born out of the recognition by
innovative producers, who understood the adoption of
ecologically and economically sustainable principles would
enable them to remain on the land, producing the food and fiber
needed for an ever-expanding population. Sixty years ago the
agriculture industry operated on cheap fuel and fertilizer. Our
industry, and our research, during that time focused on the
chemical and physical characteristics of soil, with little to
no consideration of the biological interactions. In recent
years, prices for food and fertilizer have increased to the
point that--become unsustainable for many operations. Many
producers have had to make a choice, continue what they've
always done, or work with nature to find a new solution.
Born out of equal parts necessity and frustration,
producers began to experiment with farming techniques that
limited the use of inorganic fertilizer. They began to see that
limiting or eliminating tillage reduced their fuel bill, and
using the ageless practice of cover crops to keep their fields
covered provided numerous benefits to the soil, like preventing
erosion, like increasing the soil's water holding capacity,
and, yes, increasing biodiversity. In essence, they built a
foundation of principles that producers follow today to manage
healthy soils.
These soil health principles were set forth to achieve
specific goals inherent to all soils. They mimic highly
diverse, heterogeneous native rangelands by harnessing the
power of biologic interactions between plants and soil
microbes. These principles build soil aggregation, which
further build soil structure, which increases water
infiltration, and ultimately increases the soil's resilience.
These principles provide innovative producers a path forward,
and substantiate that the conventional farming practices of the
last 60 years are not the only way. These principles were
developed by producers, for producers. Principles like armoring
the soil, keeping the soil covered. Soil cannot be built if
it's moving. Optimizing or minimizing disturbances, increasing
species diversity, keeping living roots in the ground as long
as possible, and increase, and properly integrating livestock.
In 1949 Aldo Leopold, considered by many to be the father
of conservation theory and wildlife management, taught that
land stewardship was not only rooted in conservation, but also
involved an ethic of stewardship. He wrote that the individual
is a member of a community of interdependent parts. The land
ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to
include soil, water, plants, animals, or, collectively, the
land. Simply put, once we understand that humans are not
separate from, but are part of, and depend on, the natural
community, we develop an ethic to care for the community as a
whole.
For years those who oversee the use and protection of our
soil, the producers, have been disparaged, and in many cases
demonized, for the practices in which they engage. However, the
reality is that those entrusted with the mantle of land steward
embrace the same ethic taught by Mr. Leopold. Producers today
are implementing principles that return biodiversity to the
land. This stewardship cannot happen without those stewards on
the land. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Goodwin follows:]
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Chairwoman Johnson. Dr. Monfort.
TESTIMONY OF DR. STEVEN MONFORT,
DIRECTOR OF THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOO AND
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE
Dr. Monfort. Thank you, Chairwoman Johnson, Ranking Member
Lucas, and distinguished Members of the Committee. My name is
Steve Monfort, and I'm the Director of the Smithsonian's
National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. In addition to
representing my zoo colleagues, I'm honored today to represent
my Smithsonian partners from--Environmental Research Center,
our Tropical Research Institute, and the National Museum of
Natural History, and others united under Smithsonian's
umbrella, called the Conservation Commons, which is an
institution-wide effort designed to foster collaboration in
tackling complex conservation problems.
At the National Zoo you probably know that we care for and
conserve some of the rarest species on Earth, but what may be
less known to you is that the Smithsonian has been studying
biodiversity for 170 years plus. Today, hundreds of Smithsonian
scientists and scholars work across the spectrum of
biodiversity and conservation science, from genomes to
individuals and populations, to forests, watersheds, and
fisheries, to understanding the impacts of infrastructure
development, pandemic diseases, and human/animal conflict, work
that is focused on understanding and sustaining a biodiverse
planet, which we've been hearing is the very fabric of what we
define as nature, and all of its vital contributions to people,
and all life on Earth.
As evidenced by our incredible new fossil hall, which I'm
sure you'll all have a chance to see soon, our collections
represent the best planetary record that humanity possess. They
document long-term baselines, trends, and changes about the
planet, biodiversity, and even human cultures. And what we've
learned is this, it took 200,000 years for the human population
to reach one billion people, but only 200 to reach nearly eight
billion, and this has resulted in profound planetary change.
The IPBES report essentially confirms what we have long
known--humans have made things very tough for nature. And yet,
as you've also heard, we're inextricably linked to, and
connected, and dependent upon biodiversity, upon nature.
Because, quite literally, and very simply, every breath that
you take, every drop of water that you drink, every bite of
food that you consume, is in one way dependent upon
biodiversity and functioning ecosystems.
Over the next decade we know that trillions of dollars are
going to be invested in things like infrastructure development,
and land conversion, to really--to support the livelihoods of a
growing human population. But without better planning, proper
planning, this development will continue to be a major driver
of animal mortalities, of habitat fragmentation, species
invasions, and the spread of pathogens that are responsible for
global pandemic disease threats.
The ongoing and real threats to biodiversity are clearly
daunting, and yet, if we just bombard the public with messages
of gloom and doom, absent any focus on solutions, we risk
fostering a sense of--that nothing anyone does is going to make
a difference. So, to counter this, in 2017 the Smithsonian
launched Earth Optimism, which is a worldwide forum for sharing
and curating stories of conservation success. Our next summit
aims to reach a billion people around the world on the 50th
anniversary of Earth Day, which will be in April 2020, and, of
course, you're all invited to join us.
In my own experience, increasing collaboration increases
the chance of finding solutions, and I'd like to share two
examples that I believe demonstrate that. The Scimitar Horned
Oryx is a large, magnificent, desert-adapted antelope that once
roamed widely across the entire Sahelian grasslands of North
Africa, from Senegal to North Africa, like American bison,
widely distributed. The species was declared extinct in the
wild in the 1980s as a result of war and overhunting. And,
fortunately, though, large populations of the species were
maintained in human care, both in zoos and private collections
worldwide, including at the Smithsonian.
In 2010, the Smithsonian helped to convene a global network
of stakeholders that included the governments of Abu Dhabi,
which managed large populations of oryx in their own herds, and
the government of Chad, which sought to restore the species to
their historic rangelands. And so it was through this diverse
partnership that, in 2016, I had the amazing opportunity to
personally witness the first group of oryx to touch Chadian
soil in more than 30 years. Reintroducing oryx back to Chad is
really just the first step in restoring ecological balance in
an entire Sahelian Grasslands ecosystem, upon which people
depend for their livelihoods.
Another great example comes from our Tropical Research
Institute in Panama. As you know, the Panama Canal is a massive
lifeline of global commerce, but large ships were routinely
colliding with humpback whales, which was, of course,
catastrophic for the animals, but also had the potential for
disrupting global trade. Our scientists used GPS tracking
devices to monitor the movements of these whales, and, through
collaboration with the Panama Canal Authority, these data were
used to re-establish new shipping lanes, which resulted in a 93
percent reduction in ship/whale collisions.
So win/win solutions for people and nature will require us
to adopt new standards of practice that recognize that
integrating conservation and science across multiple sectors
into development practice is good for our economies, it's good
for our families, and good for every global citizen, because we
all have a stake, and will benefit from sustaining a biodiverse
planet. Nature must have a place at the decisionmaking table,
not as an interloper, but as an existential partner, if it is
to fulfill its role in providing its incredible benefits to
current and future human societies. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Monfort follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Let me thank all
of our witness. And, before we begin our questioning, I'd like
to present five documents for the record, letters from the
Center for Biological Diversity, and the International Fund for
Animal Welfare, and statements from Dr. Jacob Malcolm at
Defenders of Wildlife, Dr. Bruce Stein at the National Wildlife
Federation, and the National Resources Defense Council. All
five documents highlight the shocking and frightening findings
of the IPBES report. Further, the letters and statements call
for aggressive science-based action to address this crisis. And
so, without objection, I'm placing these five documents in the
record. At this point we will begin our first round of
questions, and I recognize myself for 5 minutes.
Dr. Porter, we appreciate you being here today to talk
about the corals as a case study in biodiversity. Your
participation is especially timely, since World Reef Awareness
Day was just this past Saturday. You mentioned in your
testimony that corals are a marine medicine cabinet of sorts,
that the unique organisms we find only in coral ecosystems are
being used for new drugs that address deadly diseases. Can you
talk a little bit more about the health innovations that have
resulted from coral so far?
Dr. Porter. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I can be
quite specific about this. A new drug has just been discovered
from tropical sea fans called prostaglandin. It's one of the
most effective at curing breast cancer. And another drug has
just been discovered from a strange marine creature called
bryozoan, and that one has been used to cure prostate cancer.
Coral reefs are the oldest environment on Earth, with 400
million years of continuous evolution. And at that point in--
with that kind of time, they have evolved chemicals to defend
their own territories, and their own lives, and we humans are
benefiting from 400 million years of their evolution. Thank
you.
Chairwoman Johnson. Well, thank you. Are these research
activities supported by any Federal grant funding?
Dr. Porter. Absolutely. All of the Federal agencies that
have marine aspects to them are involved, the National Science
Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also has sanctuaries
program. And, in addition, funds coming from the Smithsonian
have been key. I myself was a pre-doctoral fellow 50 years ago
from the Smithsonian, thank you, and that started my career,
they are education and research involved in all of those
agencies. Their ocean missions must be supported.
Chairwoman Johnson. Well, thank you. Now, the
pharmaceutical innovators that are already experiencing
challenges when they seek to develop new therapies due to the
coral bleaching and death, could you explain some on that?
Dr. Porter. Yes. Corals are a mixture of a plant and an
animal. Fifteen percent of the weight of a coral is actually
living algae, and this symbiosis is the basis of coral
survival. When temperatures rise, the algae are no longer able
to photosynthesize, and they leave the coral, and it starves.
That's why temperature is so disastrous. We are involved in
genetic research, and biochemical research, to understand that
intimate linkage.
We know that some corals, over the last 50 years, have
developed a tolerance for higher temperatures. This is by the
production of heat shock proteins. Those heat shock proteins
may indeed help humans survive elevated temperatures. There's
active research from all of those agencies on the resistance of
corals to rising temperatures, but the scale of the problem--
the whole world's oceans are involved--means that we should cut
the problem off at its source as soon as we can. Thank you.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you. Now, Dr. Watson and Dr.
Brauman, your report says that biodiversity supports social and
mental wellbeing in people, and that biodiversity loss is
already having negative effects on our emotional health. Can
you comment some on that, both of you?
Dr. Watson. Yes, thank you. There's no question that people
have mental wellbeing when they walk through a forest, when
they walk by a river. We also found, in a separate study that I
chaired in the United Kingdom, that if you looked at the price
of housing that was close to a park, close to river, close to a
forest, or woodlands, the price of houses went up quite
considerably, basically. So there's lots of evidence that
people feel good when they commune with nature, basically. And
as we destroy our forests, we destroy our rivers, basically
people lose out, and so mental wellbeing is indeed a crucial
aspect of one of the benefits we all get from nature.
Dr. Brauman. I'll add that there's really excellent growing
research on child development and exposure to nature, that the
complexities, and interesting parts of being in nature as a
child are very important. The field of study and actually
biophysical mental health response to nature exposure is
growing, and is certainly an area that's very exciting, and in
need of further research.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much, my time has
expired. Mr. Lucas.
Mr. Lucas. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Goodwin, one of the
soil health management principles you mentioned is optimize
disturbance. You and I both know, but many of our colleagues
might not, that prescribed burns, grazing, herbicide
applications are actually beneficial for land, if managed
correctly. You even point out in your testimony that the Great
Plains has lost some of its vast biodiversity because of
limiting, or completely removing, fires and grazing. I guess my
question is this, when talking about land use, can you explain
why actively managing land is more beneficial to the
environment and biodiversity than simply letting nature run its
course?
Mr. Goodwin. Yes, sir, and thank you for the question. I
think it's important for us to understand the history behind
how these ecosystems evolved. When we look at the Great Plains,
or southern Great Plains in particular, those systems evolved
for thousands of years. The plants, the soils, the animals, all
of them evolved under two primary natural disturbances: Grazing
(herbivory) and fire. Today our producers manage those two
disturbances with prescription. They manage the timing, the
intensity, the frequency, the duration of that grazing event,
and that prescribed fire, to benefit habitat management for a
number of species. For instance, the timing of a prescribed
fire might increase--production for both game and non-game
grassland bird species. And so understanding, really, the
history behind it, plus also understanding that we need to
educate policymakers, and the growing public, on the benefits
of both grazing and fire in these systems.
We used to have a fire culture in this country. We used to
teach it in grade school. We don't do that anymore. I think we
need to understand that--if we understand those two items, then
we've moved a long way into the future to helping biodiversity
within that system.
Mr. Lucas. And, Mr. Goodwin, when talking about modern
agricultural practices, you refer to this movement as being
born out of innovation and economically stable practices. You
say specifically that this is not born in a laboratory, or
formed by regulatory requirements. There's a fine line between
doing things for people and doing things to people. Congress
struggles to walk that line sometimes. Why is it important that
these practices you discussed in your testimony be driven by
producers, and left unimpeded by regulation?
Mr. Goodwin. I think, just like the diversity that this
report is trying to protect, the agricultural landscape is just
as diverse. We look across the U.S., we've got extremely
diverse soils, we've got different climatic zones, we've got
different production systems with different production
capabilities. We even apply our practices differently,
depending on the location. And so, in short, when we look at
farms and ranches, no two are equal. Different soils, different
plants, different associations. So these regenerative solutions
that were built by principles, they were built on that
producer's innate ability to be innovative, and doing things
differently on their own, without being asked or forced to.
So as we look at policies that establish a sort of blanket,
or one-size-fits-all regulation, we would largely end up with
unintended consequences, and ultimately limit our producers
freedom to operate, and freedom to innovate.
Mr. Lucas. Mr. Goodwin, neither you or I are old enough to
have been in Oklahoma in the 1930s, in the Great Dust Bowl
period, but in your testimony you say producers began to
experiment with farming techniques based on equal parts of
necessity and frustration. Can you elaborate on those
frustrations, the lessons discussed, how we move forward, and
compare where we are now on farms and ranches with where our
ancestors would have been in the gut of the 1930's, the
horrible part of the Dust Bowl, and that period?
Mr. Goodwin. Certainly. The Dust Bowl was a terrible time.
Families were decimated, so was the land. It was the formation
of many organizations, mine included, as well as the Soil
Conservation Service, as you well know. I think some of the
frustrations we face is we need to keep in mind that farmers
and ranchers--it's not Hollywood, it's a business. Some are
large businesses, some are small businesses, and input costs
over the last 60 years have increased to where those producers
can't operate the way they once did. They're business owners,
and they need to have that ability to look for compelling ways
to stay innovative.
Those are some of the ways that have led to those
frustrations, and, really, to abandon--they've moved them
toward abandoning tradition of the last 60 years, and looking
for those compelling regenerative solutions that help them
ecologically and economically, sustainably, provide that food
source for the growing public.
Mr. Lucas. So, essentially, whether it was for the right
reason or the wrong reason, nonetheless producers out there
have been compelled to adopt a better path?
Mr. Goodwin. Most certainly.
Mr. Lucas. Thank you. Yield back, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. Bera.
Mr. Bera. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Dr. Monfort, you
talked a little bit about the impact of population, and I don't
remember the exact numbers you gave, but, you know, clearly our
population is rising at a much faster rate than, you know, when
we look at history. My other Committee's the Foreign Affairs
Committee, and we spend a lot of time thinking about the impact
in sub-Saharan Africa, you know, kind of this youth bulge, and,
you know, the number of people that are displaced right now not
just by war, but by famine, by lack of water, et cetera. And,
you know, if you could just maybe expand a little bit on, you
know, we all understand the impact of climate change on loss of
biodiversity, et cetera, but if you could maybe comment on the
impact of, you know, population expansion?
Dr. Monfort. Well, generally, you know, population
expansion means an increased use of resources, or a wiser use
of resources. You know, sort of referencing the question
earlier, it had to do with, you know, whether we have protected
areas, or national parks set aside, and allow them to remain
intact, versus what goes on outside the park. And the truth is
we live in functionally what you would describe as a landscape
mosaic now, where virtually the entire globe is a variety of
different land usages. And so we're really in a situation where
we need to wisely be able to manage those resources.
If you go back to the example of the oryx, these are
nomadic peoples that are using a grassland--a rangeland system,
grazing camels and other livestock, and reintroducing oryx is
really an effort to introduce land management practices that
will allow sustainable use of the ephemeral grasses that will
support livelihoods of the people there. So oftentimes it's
really about--it is absolutely about better management, better
land stewardship, and creating win/wins with the people who
depend on biodiversity for their survival.
Mr. Bera. So, as a life scientist--I'm a physician by
training--I agree with everything that you're saying. Now, I'm
going to do a town hall on Thursday evening, and I'm going to
have to explain to my constituents why this is incredibly
important. So if each of you could give me a way to put into
words that, you know, that mom or dad or who's trying to pay
their mortgage, that's trying to get their kids to soccer
practice, would take the urgency of, you know, why this is an
impact. Maybe starting with Dr. Watson, how I would explain it
in a sentence or two to my constituents?
Dr. Watson. To answer your first question, sir, it's a
combination of an increase in population, and a wealthier
population, has led to an increase in per capita consumption,
and so we need to deal with both of those issues.
But biodiversity fundamentally is not just an environmental
issue. Nature has economic value, which we should take account
of in our accounting systems. It also has development value,
food, water, energy security, human health. It also is a moral
issue, we shouldn't destroy nature, and there's a social issue,
as you've heard, that the most disadvantaged of poor people are
most adversely affected. So there's multiple reasons we should
care about both climate change and biodiversity.
Mr. Bera. Right. Dr. Brauman?
Dr. Brauman. From the very food we eat, to the way we
define ourselves, and our sense of place, nature is an
incredibly integral part of all of our lives. And when we
destroy nature, we really undermine all of those life support
systems on which we depend.
Mr. Bera. Great. Dr. Porter?
Dr. Porter. Yes. Ninety-four countries, half of all nations
on Earth, have coral reefs within their boundaries. If we
destroy their source of income, and protein, and livelihood,
they will be the climate refugees that will move all over the
world, and make this place more conflictual.
Mr. Bera. Right. Mr. Goodwin?
Mr. Goodwin. Yes. I mean, I think it's just important to
recognize that nature is important, and we need to do a better
job of telling the story of the good things that are happening
out on the landscape as well.
Mr. Bera. Great. And Dr. Monfort.
Dr. Monfort. Yes. Some of these have been said, but
ultimately it's about health, and prosperity and security are
sort of fundamental policy issues, but if anyone enjoys being
in nature, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, any sort of
recreation, they should care about biodiversity.
Mr. Bera. Great. Thank you, and I'll yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. Marshall?
Mr. Marshall. Thank you so much. I'm one of those people
that enjoy being out in nature, and I've always believed that
the solutions that rely in sound conservation practices and
innovation. I'm a big fan of Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants
Forever, Quail Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation,
just to name a few that I've been involved with, and the key to
all these programs are re-establishing habitat, that we, as
hunter and fishermen, know that habitat is absolutely the key
to success, and great stories I could share, particularly what
Ducks Unlimited has done to re-establish some of the wetlands
areas through North America. Mr. Goodwin, do you have any
relationships with any of those organizations? I'm kind of
shooting from the hip here.
Mr. Goodwin. Well, I mean, I'm certainly a hunter and a
fisherman, enjoy the outdoors, and I'm on the Board of
Directors for the Society for Range Management, that promotes
habitat management across all of the rangeland. So did you--
specifically would you like me to address a question?
Mr. Marshall. Not yet. I'll give you a follow up question
here. One of the big investigations I went on several years ago
was trying to understand the lesser prey chicken, what's kind
of happened to its population, and something that might impact
part of their rangeland is down in Oklahoma as well. And what I
discovered is the best place in the country at re-establishing
that habitat actually went back to the way nature was hundreds
of years ago, in that we had buffalo ranging through the Great
Plains. They didn't stay in one field, they ranged up and down,
north to south, in the season.
So there was grazing practices, and, guess what, there was
also natural occurring fires. And the people that are
replicating those, establishing that habitat, a little bit of
rain is what's really brought back the prairie chicken
population. So maybe just give you a little bit more rope to
talk about how important it is, maybe tie in some weather
reports, national weather reports, how we use those to
prescribe fire practices, and how we're using that for even
endangered species, like the lesser prairie chicken.
Mr. Goodwin. Thank you, sir. Yes, and so--when we look at
how we manage landscapes from a rangeland perspective, habitat
is always in our mind. I mean, this is habitat for numerous
terrestrial species, and so I want to look at those management
practices that we apply to that landscape. Certainly fire and
grazing are important to those, and they're not necessarily
just practices. They're ecological processes that helped meld--
and helped those processes, and that ecology, evolve.
Specifically, with the lesser prairie chicken, yes, they
like those heterogeneous landscapes, so they have their booming
grounds. And managing the timing, frequency, intensity, and
duration of grazing and fires, how we help that species evolve
and sustain itself. And so certainly--and with respect to NOAA
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and
prescribed fire, yes, most certainly we use those data every
day. When we employ--or implement a prescribed fire, it's by
prescription. We prescribe the weather conditions. We prescribe
all of the conditions that--of which we burn, and we ask for a
site-specific spot weather forecast. Those data are absolutely
invaluable to us, not only form a perspective of planning, but
also safety. It helps us document the pre- and post-burn
conditions, and, most importantly, it helps us make management
decisions on the ground.
Mr. Marshall. Exactly. I've done quite a bit of that
pasture burning myself. I've often suggested I should sell
tickets to let people help me, but that wind report is
especially important.
Dr. Porter, you were referring to some biopharmaceuticals,
and their use of coral. One of the great things about people in
the hunting and fishing realm is that we always work just as
hard to leave it better than we found it, and want to go back
and work with the habitat to help it be better. What's
happening in the world with Big Pharma, whoever's, you know,
accessing some of these coral medicines? What are they doing to
help refurbish the reefs?
Dr. Porter. Yes, they have been very active in that. For
coral reefs, there is an entire program called bioprospecting,
in which animals from coral reefs are being investigated. It
turns out the sponges are especially good at giving us new
compounds. They have been an ally. I have also worked with
Trouts Unlimited exactly for the same reason. They are a force
in conservation, and they should be supported. Thank you.
Mr. Marshall. Thank you so much. I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you so much. Mr. Lamb.
Mr. Lamb. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Mr. Goodwin, I
wanted to ask you about some of your research into cover crops,
and where you've seen success out where you are. The climate of
where I come from, in Western Pennsylvania, is probably pretty
different from where you're conducting research. We're seeing
an increase in particularly early-season storms, rain storms,
very intense, so dealing with a lot of water. Are there crops
you've seen in your research that have been especially
effective at increasing the biodiversity of the soil when it
comes to kind of a wetter environment?
Mr. Goodwin. Well, Oklahoma and the Southern Great Plains
aren't necessarily known to be a wet environment, although I'd
argue this year it's pretty wet.
Mr. Lamb. Um-hum.
Mr. Goodwin. So, you know, I think when we step back, and
we look at how we design cover crop mixes, we certainly test
the soil. We want to understand what condition that soil is in,
and so--and then we tailor cover crop mixes to help us balance
carbon and nitrogen ratios to increase not only the species
diversity, but--in above ground, you know, biomass, but also
rooting structures.
Mr. Lamb. Right.
Mr. Goodwin. We don't want just tap rooted perennials. We
want fibrous root systems, and all those, and those all help us
increase soil structure with--it helps us to increase
infiltration. We don't have any control over how much rain we
get, but we certainly have control over how much we keep, and
how much infiltrates into the soil, and recharges aquifers.
Mr. Lamb. So are there certain species that help with that,
with the more deeply rooted systems that you're looking for,
or----
Mr. Goodwin. Yes. I mean, we've got forage species, like
forage collards, and nitro-radishes, and those sort of species
that wildlife do use. They provide flowers for pollinators, and
they also have deep taproots that help leave--or help that
integration to where we can get infiltration further into the
soil profile.
Mr. Lamb. And I'm aware that there is some research going
on more widely about whether we can develop new forms of cover
crops that will more efficiently store carbon, and sequester
carbon at a higher rate than some of the existing ones. Is your
organization involved in any of that research, or are you
familiar with it? Are you seeing any success in that area?
Mr. Goodwin. We are. Nobel Research Institute's keenly
involved and interested in understanding how we can use cover
crops in specific areas. They're a tool. It's not a silver
bullet. Certainly, when we look back, and look at how we want
to manage for soil health, they're one piece of the pie. Just
because I plant cover crops doesn't mean I'm increasing my soil
health. I have to manage that crop specifically. But, yes,
we're most certainly interested in understanding, again, how
that root dynamic adds to carbon sequestration, how do we
increase the root's ability to increase the productivity of
that plant, but also, how does it attract the diversity of
microbes. We learn more and more that more of the organic
carbon in the soil is actually microbial bodies, as well as
decomposed organic material. So--yes, sir.
Mr. Lamb. Thank you. And, Dr. Brauman, I saw you nodding
your head, so if you want to jump in--I'm just curious about
specific research efforts that maybe we could look at to try to
help further along--that maybe involve new species of cover
crops, or rediscovered species. Are you familiar with that at
all?
Dr. Brauman. Absolutely. There's really interesting
research going on at the University of Minnesota, and I would
be happy to submit some information about that for the record.
One of the things that they've been working on are actually
perennial cover crops and perennial food crops. So these are in
development, but what we're starting to see are crops that are
sort of on the verge of coming to market, like perennial wheat
grasses. What that means is that there's not actually a bare
period on the soil at all, and especially with these wet
springs, which, in the climate forecast, we see much wetter
springs in the middle part of the country, as well as drier
falls, and so having those crops on the ground is really
important.
Nice research at the University of Minnesota. We're seeing
really nice cold weather research, which is relevant to Western
Pennsylvania, as well as Minnesota, where what we want to make
sure is that we don't see, for example, fall applications of
fertilizer. Instead, the fertilizer goes on after crops are in
the ground, and in multiple iterations so that, when we have
wet springs like this, it doesn't all just roll right off the
ground.
Mr. Lamb. I see. I read something about a variety of
mustard plant that people were trying to create out in
California. Are you familiar with that, Mr. Goodwin? Have you--
--
Mr. Goodwin. Not----
Mr. Lamb. I think it was a genetically engineered new plant
that they thought would add carbon at a higher rate. Just a
last technical question, if we ever got to the point where,
say, we decided we wanted to try to compensate farmers for
growing a certain type of cover crop because it increased, you
know, it took carbon out of the atmosphere, is that a
technically possible thing to measure? Can you measure how much
a farmer has contributed with the crop they use? Go ahead, Dr.
Brauman.
Dr. Brauman. Absolutely, and there's research going on at
the University of Minnesota on exactly this issue right now.
And it's going to be critical--I'm not sure what the situation
is for rangeland in Oklahoma, but in Minnesota, sowing cover
crops is expensive, and lots of farmers can't afford to do it
unless there's a way to monetize that somehow. It's just an
extra cost on their shoulders, when it's a benefit to all of us
to do it. And so looking for incentives and payments is going
to be critical.
Mr. Lamb. Great. Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. Baird.
Mr. Baird. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Goodwin, I know, and
you mentioned, the importance of the land to farmers. And, you
know, the scientists at the colleges of agriculture and
agriculture extension programs are constantly developing
innovations, and looking for better ways to produce more food
on less land and water, so one of the things that I see is the
new technology, and the equipment that we have today, we're
able to more specifically place some of the things that are
important to growing a crop, and universities, and the
agrobusiness, as well as the extension program, are constantly
looking for ways to improve on that. So I guess my question is
would you care to comment on how important that aspect of this
research in protecting biodiversity?
Mr. Goodwin. You know, I think there's always room for
technology. We can--anytime that any of us say that we don't
have room for improvement, it's a foolish statement. And so
certainly we always look for technological solutions, if there
are. I think, in this case, that there's certainly room for
technological solutions, like new sensor technologies, to help
us understand the ecological dynamics that we can't see.
I also think that we need to step back at times and say
technology's not always the solution, that we need to work with
Mother Nature, and help understand that we can apply these
ecologically beneficial practices, and still feed the planet.
Mr. Baird. Thank you, Dr. Brauman, you discussed the
importance of biodiversity in agriculture. Are there any other
crops, besides soybeans, for example, like the work that's
being done at Purdue--they are internationally renowned for the
work on genetic structures of crop plants like soybeans. So are
there any other crops, besides soybeans, that are lacking in
biodiversity, and in a need of innovative research?
Dr. Brauman. I can't speak to the specific crops where
there's great potential, but what I do know is that there are
many crops where this kind of development could be incredibly
beneficial. Soybeans had a huge development in the mid century
of last century to get them to the productivity point that
they're at today, and they're continuing to do that work. We
know that, with almost all of the crops we grow, any time we
can do innovation, and that ranges from reducing drought
sensitivity, to better utilizing nutrients, to simply being
better sighted in the places where we're growing them, that we
are able to grow food more efficiently with less inputs, and
that's always a benefit.
Mr. Baird. Thank you. Back to you, Mr. Goodwin. You noted
that the Nobel Research Institute (NRI) conducts independent
agricultural research similar to our land grant universities.
So how does the NRI disseminate its research to the broader
agricultural industry?
Mr. Goodwin. We provide consultation services directly to
farmers and ranchers in the southern Great Plains, so we work
directly with those producers in an inter-disciplinary approach
to provide conservation recommendations based on their goals
and objectives, and we also have an extensive educational
program. We have thousands of people a year come to the
Institute to learn by seeing what exactly we're doing, and how
we implement those practices on the 15,000 acres that we own
and operate as an Institute. We also certainly publish in
popular and scientific journals. Thank you.
Mr. Baird. One last quick question. Do you feel this works
well for small farmers as well as large agrobusiness, and so
on?
Mr. Goodwin. I think there's a regenerative solution for
all size operations. I don't think size is a limiting factor.
The limiting factor is, do we think we can do it, and the
answer is yes.
Mr. Baird. Thank you, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Ms. Stevens.
Ms. Stevens. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to our
expert witnesses for joining for today's panel, and
congratulations on the recent report. Certainly quite timely
for us, as the Committee on Science convenes to make its mark
on how we can protect our biodiversity.
We recently had a hearing in the Subcommittee for Research
and Tech on plastics and recycling technologies. I continue to
hear from municipalities in my district, suburban Michigan,
around the challenges that they're having recycling due to the
lack of infrastructure. And, Dr. Brauman, you, in your
testimony, referenced plastics pollution, that it's increased
tenfold since the 1980s. And I'd like you to just talk a little
bit about the urgency that we have in the country to invest in
infrastructure to handle the waste that we produce with
plastics, and, you know, maybe talk a little bit too about the
timeframe that we have in making these investments to revive
some of our biodiversity in this country.
Dr. Brauman. Thank you. There's been a huge increase in
plastics, and indeed in all kinds of waste, from food waste to
waste that does not biodegrade, like plastics, in the United
States, and around the world. We see this increase in
consumption very clearly in the report. And what that's done is
create waste that we then have to do something with, and the
need to be able to recycle and reuse these waste products, as
well as to simply produce less of them, is critical.
We know that, particularly in the oceans, there's a huge
problem with plastic waste, and that there's little that we're
able to do about it once it's in the oceans, and so stopping it
before it gets there is something that is incredibly important.
Ms. Stevens. In the oceans and in our food.
Dr. Brauman. Yes. Plastic microbeads is actually a fairly
good example of things that people have begun to take out of
products, at least in the United States, and so it's clear that
we can do something about this when we want to. We are,
however, seeing lots of these things everywhere, all around the
world, and so making sure that we can reduce consumption,
reduce waste, and then also manage waste in better ways is
critical, and the sooner we do it, the less we're going to have
to clean up later.
Ms. Stevens. Yes. Great. And--yes, did you want to chime
in, Dr. Porter?
Dr. Porter. Yes, thank you.
Ms. Stevens. Yes, please.
Dr. Porter. The estimate now is that by 2050 there will be
more plastic in the ocean than fish.
Ms. Stevens. Yes. Great data point. Thank you. We're not
doing it right in the hearing on biodiversity loss and causes
if we're not talking about invasive species. I'm also not doing
my duty as a Michigander without talking about Asian carp that
has created huge problems in the marine ecosystems in the
Mississippi River and in Illinois. There's been a long campaign
to build the infrastructure to keep Asian carp out of Lake
Michigan. Currently there is a $778 million plan to stop the
spread of Asian carp to the Great Lakes. The leading edge of
the carp population is really, at this point, only 47 miles
from Lake Michigan.
And, Dr. Watson, if I could turn to you on this, in your
testimony you referenced that invasive species, such as Asian
carp, will likely exacerbate some of these trends that are
continuing to negatively impact biodiversity. Where do you
believe the Federal Government could rightly partner at the
State and local level in investing to make the biggest impact
in combating invasive species?
Dr. Watson. Yes. As our report said, alien invasive species
are one of the five direct drivers of loss of biodiversity. And
indeed, especially in freshwater systems, such as you've
mentioned, one has to take care. The real challenge is to
prevent alien invasive species entering our system in the first
place. Once you get these species, it's very hard, in many
cases, to get rid of them, basically. So I'm not sure what can
be done with respect to Asian carp to be honest, our report
didn't deal at the subnational level with approaches to dealing
with alien invasive species, although Kate may have some better
ideas.
Dr. Brauman. Yes. I will say that in Minnesota, we've
actually--the northern--the uppermost lock and dam on the
Mississippi River is now permanently closed, and so that was,
obviously, work that was done with the Army Corps of Engineers
in large part to make sure that invasive carp don't actually
get above that part of the river. But I absolutely agree with
Dr. Watson, we at least know the problems we're facing with the
invasive species that are in the country already, and there's
no reason to think that future invasive species won't be worse,
and so doing a better job keeping those invasive species out is
going to be critical.
Ms. Stevens. It's like a bad horror movie with the carp.
Dr. Monfort, I know you were raising----
Dr. Monfort. Yes----
Ms. Stevens [continuing]. Your hand, and we actually wanted
to get you in on this----
Dr. Monfort. OK. Sure. I just----
Ms. Stevens [continuing]. Reference the Smithsonian, and
all sorts----
Dr. Monfort. Right.
Ms. Stevens [continuing]. Of great programs, so----
Dr. Monfort. Well, one of the ultimate invasive species has
been the chytrid fungus, which is responsible for a global
decline in amphibians, and--so studying the origin of these
invasions, and tracking them, and understanding how they
function is something also that we need to do a better job
with.
At the Smithsonian, though, we work with the Coast Guard
and--on marine invasive species, and we have the National
Ballast Information Clearinghouse System, which is a system
that samples ballast water from all ships that are coming into
our ports, and we've monitored 550 species of marine and
estuarine invertebrates and algae, for example. So this is an
example of how you can go about being proactive in monitoring
and tracking these organisms and how they're moving.
Ms. Stevens. Fabulous, thank you. I yield back the
remainder of my time.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Dr. Babin.
Mr. Babin. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,
everyone, for being here. Appreciate your testimony. Dr.
Brauman, I would like to ask you first, I have the honor of
serving as the Ranking Member on the Space Subcommittee, as
well as getting to represent Johnson Space Center, and I've
seen many examples of NASA's collaborations with private
partners to foster innovation and technological growth, from
remote sensing robotics to GPS and technologies for growing
crops in space, NASA's space exploration and Earth science
efforts have yielded remarkable benefits for farms and economic
activities and industries. Do you see more collaborative
opportunities like these to address the issues that we're
discussing today of biodiversity?
Dr. Brauman. Absolutely. I have actually received a grant
from NASA last year to run a series of workshops where we
brought practitioners, as well as researchers, together to look
at better ways to use Earth observations as we assess and do
management based on ecosystem services, and it's clear that
there's a tremendous opportunity. One of the things that's also
very clear is that, in addition to more basic research, we need
to be supporting a lot of the background systems that make the
kind of information that NASA is developing more accessible to
more people. So, if you're an expert, if this is what you do
for a living, it's easy to grab their data and do----
Mr. Babin. Right.
Dr. Brauman [continuing]. Informative things. But it's hard
if you're not.
Mr. Babin. Great. Thank you very much. And, Mr. Goodwin,
the threat of pollution on biodiversity in ecosystems is a
global issue, and a solution is reliant on the participation of
other countries, as well as us. How can we ensure that other
countries, big polluters like China and India, are taking the
steps toward cleaner solutions, and that the financial burden
of tackling global pollution isn't solely on the backs of the
American taxpayer?
Mr. Goodwin. I'd have to say that's out of my wheelhouse. I
could speak to the benefits and the good things that our
producers here in the United States are doing, but I'm not your
guy for China.
Mr. Babin. OK. But you catch my drift though, right? Well,
I'll ask you another one. You mentioned in your testimony many
different practices that have increased soil health and
productivity. Similarly to my second question, do you see any
other countries adopting similar measures? Now, that may be out
of your wheelhouse too. And how can we make sure that these
other countries are taking steps forward in these areas as
well, and that the U.S. is not the only party making these
strides?
Mr. Goodwin. Well, certainly, for soil health management
strategies, this revolution is not solely performed in the
United States. There are producers, ag producers, all around
the world, implementing these principles. And if we focus on
the key core soil health building principles--when we look at
habitat, and we look at diversity, often we look at it from the
top down, and I would submit we need to look at it from the
bottom up. We need to----
Mr. Babin. Right.
Mr. Goodwin [continuing]. Fix the foundation. Increase the
soil health, increase the plant communities. Those plant
communities provide the habitat for those wildlife species.
Those principles work whether you're in Nairobi, Kenya or in
Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Mr. Babin. Do you believe it should be the role of the
American taxpayer, through taxes and regulations, to be
responsible for solving these issues, and do you believe
through private partner relationships we can foster innovation
and efficiency?
Mr. Goodwin. I most certainly think there's opportunity for
partnerships. I do think it's the role of each individual
producer to have the ability and the freedom to operate their
producer--or their private property as they need to, and more
and more producers are seeing that these ecologically focused
principles are benefiting us in both ways, both economically
and ecologically.
Mr. Babin. But is it the American taxpayers' job to solve
the problems on global issues?
Mr. Goodwin. No, sir.
Mr. Babin. OK.
Mr. Goodwin. It is not.
Mr. Babin. All right. And then also, my last question, I
represent southeast Texas, which is home to a lot of ag, and it
just so happens that my district is, unfortunately, also in a
flood prone region with hurricanes. This has created a lot of
issues with harvesting and crop production. Can you elaborate a
little bit on how some of these new practices could help
protect crops and soil during inclement weather and floods?
Mr. Goodwin. Well, certainly, if we look at the--again,
those foundational principles, the first one is keeping the
ground covered. We don't want those erosive losses providing
further sediment downstream any more than anybody else does.
Mr. Babin. Right.
Mr. Goodwin. And so, yes, the principles help us build the
ability and the capacity for those soils to hold water back.
And so we're going to fix these ecological problems with
principles, not just applying practices on the landscape. We
have to rethink how we look at it, and look at our practices as
a set of tools, and implement those where they need be locally.
Mr. Babin. Thank you. My time has expired, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you. Mr. Tonko.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Dr. Watson and Dr.
Brauman, I would like to pause to get a better picture of how
the IPBES conclusions were reached, and what the scientific
process looks like in practice. Who wrote this report?
Dr. Watson. Thank you. First of all, governments around the
world scoped the report. In other words, they worked with the
science community to say, what were the big scientific policy
issues that needed to be addressed? We then had governments and
the scientific community nominate experts to write the report.
Within IPBES we have a multi-disciplinary expert panel and the
bureau. I used to chair the bureau. We then selected scientists
from around the world, 150-145, to be precise--who wrote the
report. Another 300 scientists around the world helped these
145. Very strong peer review.
We sent out our report to experts and governments around
the world twice, and we received 15,000 comments on our report.
We responded to all 15,000 comments, and then effectively the
governments around the world accept the large report, the 1,700
pages, and then, with the academic community, the lead authors
and the co-chairs, we then negotiated the summary for
policymakers, the 30-page document, between governments,
including the U.S. Government. Over 100 governments
participated in Paris, and the lead experts, such as Kate and
others. So it's a very open process, incredibly transparent. We
published the comments, we will publish all the responses, and
it's probably one of the most heavily peer-reviewed documents
you will ever find.
Mr. Tonko. OK. And, Dr. Brauman, do you concur with----
Dr. Brauman. Absolutely.
Mr. Tonko. OK. And were any of the authors paid by industry
to represent a particular point of view in their participation
in the report?
Dr. Watson. No. Everybody that participates in IPBES,
whether they come from academia, such as Kate, whether they
come from a government, or a government laboratory, or an NGO
(nongovernmental organization), or the private sector, it's
absolutely essential they participate in their individual
capacity. IPBES has a Conflict of Interest Committee, and we
scrutinize every single person that is either an author, a co-
author, a review editor, to make sure there is no conflict of
interest. I used to chair such the panel.
Mr. Tonko. OK. Well, I thank you both. As someone who
deeply respects the scientific process, I'm concerned by some
of the attacks on the IPBES conclusions. Recently, during the
Natural Resources Committee hearing, some people didn't like
the results, and seemed to try to poke holes in the process to
get rid of conclusions that didn't suit them. However, anyone
who wants to dig deeper can see that this was a rigorous and
respectable process. As a Committee, we should play the role of
helping to distinguish between false attacks on science and
real instances of violations of scientific integrity. There are
real examples where science is being suppressed, distorted, or
indeed censored, and scientists are being harassed or
retaliated against.
I introduced the Scientific Integrity Act to ensure that
every agency that funds science has strong scientific integrity
policies in place. I invite all Members who care about
scientific integrity to join me in that effort. I also am
equally committed to standing up for good, rigorous, peer-
reviewed science. It was recently reported that the Trump
Administration is working to change the scope of the National
Climate Assessment by cutting off review to 2040. The existing
review looks out to 2100 and beyond.
We know that climate impacts have great effect on
biodiversity, and we know that, if left unaddressed, climate
impacts will get worse in the decades to come. With that in
mind, will this new 2040 cutoff limit our understanding of the
actual loss of biodiversity?
Dr. Watson. Yes, without any question. There is a need to
look at all plausible futures, out to probably 2100. Climate
change is accelerating, and, even with the Paris agreement to
try and limit climate change, much of the climate change will
still occur after 2040, not only affecting biodiversity, but
affecting food security, water security, human health, et
cetera. So to try and limit a projection to only 2040 does not
make good scientific sense, and it will absolutely harm
informed, evidence-based policymaking.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you. And Dr. Brauman?
Dr. Brauman. I'll also note that much of the infrastructure
that we build, and indeed many of the decisions we make, we
certainly hope are going to last beyond something like 2040.
And so, building those to design specifications that take into
account what the world is most likely to look like in the
future is critical.
Mr. Tonko. So I thank you both for your response to that,
and--sure, Dr. Porter.
Dr. Porter. For coral reefs, the 2040 does not change the
assessment at all. All of the things that I've described will
occur before 2040.
Mr. Tonko. OK. Thank you very much. With that I yield back,
Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. Posey.
Mr. Posey. Thank you, Madam Chair. Among its many concerns,
the IPBES report specifically lists a conversion of undeveloped
land into farmland as something that we should be particularly
concerned about. Obviously we need to continue to feed billions
and billions of people, and American agriculture producers lead
the world in growing more on less land than ever before. As the
world leader in food production, it's not clear to me that we
should be concerned about land being converted to farmland. My
concern has been, in this country, as well as other parts of
the world, we are devoting an increasing amount of land and
resources to non-food crops, such as ethanol. Simply put,
should we be growing corn for food rather than fuel?
Dr. Brauman. That's a great question. I can tell you what
we know about production, and what we know about production is
that, globally, we actually produce more than enough calories
to feed the world today, and yet there are people that go
hungry. And this is very much because we are diverting food
crops to non-food uses, or to feed. It's beyond the scope of
this report to say the decisions that we should make, but we
certainly can talk about what the implications of the decisions
that we are making, or that we might make, are, and what we
clearly see is that it's the increase in consumption,
particularly increasing consumption of meat, that is really
driving much of this expansion of farmland at this point,
because we do have plenty of farmland, and we do grow crops
very efficiently here in the United States.
Mr. Posey. Thank you. Dr. Watson, I see you writing like
crazy.
Dr. Watson. Yes. I think the challenge is, in many
developing countries, to improve the yield per hectare. In many
parts of Africa, they're still only getting a ton of produce
per hectare, where they should easily be able to get three,
four, five tons with more agroecological practices, appropriate
use of fertilizers, et cetera.
So, to feed the world, we don't actually have to double
food production in the next 30 to 40 years, we have to double
the availability of food. We waste 40 percent of all food
that's produced in both developed and developing countries--so
if we can reduce food waste, it moves us in the right
direction, and if we can get rural development in most
developing countries, educate the women, who are more often the
farmers in developing--make sure they've got some good
microfinancing, we could actually not expand our farmland, but
increase the productivity of the land and, indeed, copy some of
the practices that are common here in the United States.
Mr. Posey. Mr. Goodwin?
Mr. Goodwin. Well, I think there's certainly common ground
in some of these areas when we talk about land use change, but
I'd also say that we already have provisions for some of those
in the Farm Bill, with the sodbuster provisions, to reduce some
of those activities. But I'd also encourage you that those
acres--the rangeland acres are extremely important. They're
extremely important at producing habitat, and we graze those
with an animal that has the ability to utilize a food source
that we can't. We don't eat grass, it does, and it converts
that into a very wholesome protein that we do consume. And so
we've utilized that grazing as a tool to benefit habitat for
both the cow and the wildlife species. So--thank you.
Mr. Posey. Yes. Again, should we be growing corn for food,
rather than fuel? Dr. Porter?
Dr. Porter. No.
Mr. Posey. You think we should be doing it for fuel?
Dr. Porter. When we grow corn, I think it needs to be for
food. I think there are other ways to address biofuels without
converting corn to it.
Mr. Posey. Good. Thank you. Dr. Monfort, care to weigh in?
Dr. Monfort. No. I don't have an opinion on corn.
Mr. Posey. OK.
Dr. Monfort. Thank you.
Mr. Posey. Thank you, Madam Chair. I see my time has
expired.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. McNerney.
Mr. McNerney. I thank the Chair, and I thank the witnesses.
Pretty alarming testimony, folks. But first of all, I'd like to
introduce a foster graduate that is tailing me today, and today
this is Foster Day, so Erica Hickey, would you please stand up?
And we're having a lot of foster youth with the Blue Ribbons
today. Please given them some consideration today.
Dr. Brauman, one pathway of achieving transformative change
is addressing biodiversity loss by improving freshwater
management, protection, and connectivity. California has long
been a leader in energy and technology, and now we want to
apply that innovation to water modernization in our water
systems. The report says that biodiversity is central to water
quality and security. Can you expand on that?
Dr. Brauman. Absolutely. So the bottom line for that is
that what we put on the landscape ends up in our freshwater,
and so having biodiverse watersheds, with functioning
ecosystems where we're seeing filtration of water, and
regulation of water, as it gets into waterways is critical.
Once freshwater is in these rivers, and lakes, and streams,
then we also see cycling of nutrients, and lots of other
different kinds of potential contaminants by both the plants
and animals that are in the freshwater systems themselves. So,
altogether, what we see is that these freshwater systems are
much healthier when we have active flora and fauna.
Mr. McNerney. I've seen demonstrations in Seattle of road
runoff going into systems, and if it just was allowed to sit
for a while, it refreshes itself, and fish can live in it. If
it's immediate, the fish die, so I think that's a good point.
Dr. Watson, your report says that the biodiversity and
conditions that support it also play a role in regulating
climate. Would you just say a few words about that?
Dr. Watson. Well, yes, there's no question about it. If we
can keep carbon in a both above and below ground biomass, it
effectively stops it getting into the atmosphere. So one of the
real challenges is how can we restore degraded ecosystems, how
can we reforest degraded ecosystems, and how can we add forest
systems with native vegetation? And so if we can manage our
land properly, including the soil organic matter, we can
actually keep the carbon, or much of the carbon, in soils and
in vegetation, rather than in the atmosphere, where it causes
human-induced climate change. So there's no question
whatsoever, our ecosystems play a key role in managing at least
the fluxes of carbon dioxide.
Mr. McNerney. Well, following up on that a little bit, Mr.
Goodwin, I'm intrigued by what I'd call carbon farming. Could
you describe what that would be, and how it could be
profitable?
Mr. Goodwin. Well, I think when we look at CO2,
or carbon, most of us think about CO2. There's
CO2 in the atmosphere and the terrestrial
vegetation, but there's more in the soil than in both of those
combined. And, as a producer, that's where we have our greatest
impact. And the term carbon farming is about increasing the
organic matter in the soil. And as we increase the organic
matter of our soils, we also get these other soil dynamic
properties that benefit us from an ecological/functional
perspective. And so that's where we gain our inputs, is within
the production systems that we currently operate.
Mr. McNerney. Can it be profitable, in your opinion?
Mr. Goodwin. Most certainly.
Mr. McNerney. So that's a great tool in our fight against
climate change, is absorbing carbon into the soils?
Mr. Goodwin. Yes, sir.
Mr. McNerney. Dr. Monfort, what chances are there of
coordinating infrastructure investment and biodiversity
planning?
Dr. Monfort. Well, in terms of biodiversity in the future,
it's absolutely essential that there be better coordination
across different sectors that have an impact on the
environment. Too often what ends up happening are conservation
organizations and wildlife departments within governments will
talk to one another, but other sectors that are often,
especially in the developing world, much more influential or
powerful, are not at the table. So, I mean, if you're trying to
manage a system, or implement a new policy, and you only have,
you know, the poorest wildlife department present, and not the
Transportation Ministry, and the Health Ministry, and the
economic advisors and so on present, it's unlikely you're going
to have good policy come from that.
So solutions really are possible. In our case, we work with
oil and gas sector, for example, on doing biodiversity
assessments before, during, and after linear pipeline
developments, for example. We work with land owners who work--
we have a whole program on working land and seascapes where we
have our--our scientists are working with large landowners, and
trying to understand how can they make money and sustain native
biodiversity on their soil, for example, on their property. And
a third example involves sustaining wildlife in human care.
Zoos simply don't have enough room, and so we work with, in
Texas, for example, large ranches that private landowners are
partnered together in something called conservation centers for
species survival. So we recognize that conservation success
will only be achieved when you bring in the stakeholders that
control most of the resources, and that's governments and
private sector entities.
Mr. McNerney. OK. Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Mr. Gonzalez.
Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, Madam Chair, and to the witnesses
for being here today. It's great to hear about the
interconnectivity and role that biodiversity plays in our
global environment. I was particularly interested to hear about
the positive impact that biodiversity has on our economy,
encouraging job growth in a variety of fields. One great
example happens in my backyard, and that's with respect to the
Great Lakes in northeast Ohio. Besides holding 18 percent of
the world's freshwater supply, the Great Lakes support more
than 1.5 million jobs, and generate $62 billion in wages, much
of which is northeast Ohio-based. Great Lakes have produced a
$7 billion economic activity return on investment, and it's
important for us, as Congress, to continue to invest into
resources like the Great Lakes to reduce biodiversity loss.
Dr. Watson, in your testimony you discussed the
interconnectivity of biodiversity, and how best practices need
to be incentivized worldwide to enact transformative change.
Can you discuss how countries can undertake this task while
also maintaining steady economic production? For instance, in
agriculture, how can farmers overhaul their current process
while still maintaining profitability?
Dr. Watson. Yes. The first thing that we say is we need to
be very multi-sectoral. In other words, you can't look at
agriculture in isolation of energy, transportation, water, et
cetera. So in any government, if we really want sustainable
production and use of biodiversity, we need to make sure we get
all sectors involved, and all ministers involved. Having
finance ministers involved in setting policies that are multi-
sectoral. We need to also make sure we get all stakeholders
involved. In other words, not just governments, not just the
private sector, not just NGOs, but everyone together. We need
polycentric governance at all scales.
There is actually no doubt agriculture throughout the world
can be much more sustainable. We don't need to extensify. We
need to use good agroecological processes, and so there is
increased productivity. In my opinion, we can feed the world
and save biodiversity, and feed the world in a cost effective
way. As I mentioned earlier, reducing food waste is just one
factor, but it's basically more than a productivity issue in
developing counties, it's rural development. How do you allow
the farmer there to develop a productive farm, and actually get
their produce to market? So you need roads, you need
infrastructure, you need microfinancing.
But the transformative change also says we need to look at
our economic structure. GDP is a good measure of economic
growth, but it's not a good measure of sustainable economic
growth. The World Bank, and many others, talk about the four
factors of wealth: Natural capital, human capital, social
capital, and built capital. We need to start to bring into our
decisionmaking the value of nature in our decisionmaking, and
complement the use of GDP.
Also we need to look, to be quite honest, at some of the
large subsidies throughout the world--agricultural, energy, and
transportation--that are often very, very harmful to
biodiversity. So we need to look at how do you have incentives
for sustainable production, and try and eliminate many of these
harmful subsidies.
Mr. Gonzalez. Got you. And then following up, your
testimony, you suggest that South America, Asia, and Africa are
in the most danger of being affected by biodiversity loss. Can
you elaborate on why this is, and whether current policies in
North America and European countries have been more effective
in combating biodiversity loss? And I realize we're talking
about two totally different economies, right? Or three----
Dr. Watson. Actually, even North America and Europe have
not been as successful as we would hope in trying to protect
biodiversity. Every country in the world signed up to the so-
called--Aichi Targets. There's 20 of them. What we found in our
analysis is we're making progress on about four of them. Some
of them we've even gone backward in the last 10 years, since
the agreement in Japan. The trouble is the loss of biodiversity
is the reason that can most affect certain people in developing
countries, poor people are more dependent on biodiversity,
nature, than we are in, say, North America and Europe, and so
many poor people are quite vulnerable to loss of forests, loss
of wetlands, loss of grasslands, et cetera.
Mr. Gonzalez. And then I guess my final question quickly,
with the 30 seconds I have, a lot of what you're referring to
is happening overseas, outside of our borders. What can we, as
the U.S. Government, or what should we be thinking about?
Dr. Watson. Well, through our aid policies, we can
certainly work with developing countries, transfer of
knowledge, projects that show how you can be sustainable. So
U.S. aid could play a very key role in showing how you could
have sustainable agriculture, sustainable energy. All of that
would go a long way to making a more sustainable world, and
protect biodiversity.
Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Ms. Fletcher.
Mrs. Fletcher. Thank you very much, Chairwoman Johnson, and
Ranking Member Lucas, for holding this hearing. Thank you to
the witnesses for your testimony. It has been really
interesting. I have jotted down numerous things to share, and I
do want to follow up on a couple of questions, but first I have
a document that I do want to introduce for the record. The
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has prepared a
statement that outlines what biodiversity loss, climate change,
and habitat fragmentation means for hunters and anglers, and I
ask unanimous consent to enter the TRCP statement into the
record. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and that may be a place to
start.
Dr. Monfort, we've heard a fair bit today about some of the
challenges that wildlife is facing, including disease, invasive
species, habitat loss. What resources do you think would be
most helpful to Federal and State wildlife managers who are
trying to confront the magnitude and complexity of the threat?
Dr. Monfort. Well, I think knowledge is something that
needs to be shared, and, as we learn about new approaches and
techniques, we need to make sure that we're sharing those. I
mentioned the Virginia Working Landscapes Program that we work
in Northern Virginia. Basically, we don't have all the answers
at the Smithsonian, but we know that together, collectively, we
manage property. Out in our Front Royal facility, for example,
we have 3,200 acres, so we're a large land owner and manager.
We're trying to learn from each other by sharing knowledge
about what works and why, and how we can take things to scale.
This is sort of the theme of our Earth Optimism idea, how can
we learn from one another to do better, and to find solutions?
And so in a case like that we serve as sort of the
intellectual hub. We bring the community together, and we share
experiences, and we provide access to external advisors and
partners, much like an extension agent might provide. So I
think basically boots on the ground, working with people in the
communities--in the areas that you're trying to affect change
is really important, whether it's here in the U.S., or abroad.
Mrs. Fletcher. Terrific, thanks. Another topic that we've
covered this morning that I'm particularly interested in,
because I'm from Houston, so represent a lot of folks down in
Houston, where we're dealing with, of course, many of the
impacts of climate change, in terms of our weather, in terms of
storms, and also as we're confronting our energy future and
what it looks like, so we're particularly interested in climate
and climate change, and the topic of carbon sequestration is
really important. It's one of the things that I think people
are looking to. And so I think, Mr. Goodwin, this came up in
questions to you about carbon sequestration, and also sort of
carbon farming. And I think it also came to you, Dr. Brauman,
about is this something we can measure?
So we've heard some innovative and interesting ideas in my
district about coming up with a market-based sort of carbon
sequestration system that would use, for example, existing
wetlands, or preserving native prairie, and I'd love to get
your thoughts on some of those kinds of options; how we could
measure it, and how we could move from where we are to having a
real market-based system that would support that kind of
preservation, and increase biodiversity.
Dr. Brauman. So there actually are lots of really exciting
models for this. Some of them are called payments for ecosystem
services, and they really involve two parts, so one of them is
really being able to measure what's the benefit. And there's
lots of things we know. I work with the Natural Capital
Project. We're doing lots of cool work really quantifying the
stuff, and looking at where on the landscape it is. It's
something that we need to do more of, but it's something that
we know enough to start now.
The other piece that's really important is having the
institutional infrastructure to actually make a payment to
receive things, and there's really neat models that are
beginning to develop everything from water funds, which are
becoming more common all around the world. There's some
actually here in the United States, where water users are
paying upstream residents to manage their lands in different
ways to improve water. And what's really great about the
ecosystem services framework is that it lets us plug into a lot
of these existing market-based mechanisms.
Mrs. Fletcher. Terrific, thank you. Mr. Goodwin, do you
want to weigh in?
Mr. Goodwin. Yes, absolutely. Certainly I think there's
opportunities for us to look at solutions for incentivizing
carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services. The fact is,
for thousands of years, producers have been compensated for two
ecosystem services, food and fiber, yet they're producing clean
water, they're sequestering carbon. I think it's an opportunity
for us to not look at the moral sense, but just provide an
opportunity for market-based solutions. Not Federal regulation,
but instances like the Ecosystem Market Consortium that's
currently being put together. They brought together NGOs, they
brought together large corporations to find solutions that are
providing soil carbon water quality and water quantity
solutions for farmers and ranchers.
The problem with the measurement is it's expensive, and so
we've look at spectral solutions, like looking at mid-near--
mid-vis spectroscopy. So we have to find ways to--and
technology's going to help us move in that direction to limit
the MRV costs, and--so that we could have more of that money
not going back to a middle man, but going back to the producer.
Mrs. Fletcher. All right. Thank you. I see my time has
expired. I thank you, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you. Mr. Casten.
Mr. Casten. Thank you, Chair Johnson. Thank you so much to
the panel for being here today. So I often say that climate
change is the existential threat to our species, and the IPBES
report makes it clear that our species is not particularly
unique in the sense of that risk, other than the fact that we
think we're unique. With 25 percent of the species at risk, I
think we delude ourselves if we think we are not a part of that
ecosystem and impacted by it.
Dr. Brauman, I think you said that a 2 degree temperature
rise, about 5 percent of the species are at risk, if I was
noting that down? Or is that Dr. Watson? OK. I realize this is
imprecise, but can I extrapolate from that that about 20
percent of the species loss you see is attributable to climate
change, or is that too sloppy an estimate?
Dr. Watson. I think that problem is all of these drivers,
whether it's land use change, pollution, over-exploitation they
all interact with each other, and so climate change is one of
the threats. It changes species composition, populations. It
threatens extinction. It moves the boundaries. So we know that
climate change, while it has not been the biggest driver in
most systems today, is an increasing driver, so this is why we
argue that you have to look at both climate change and loss of
biodiversity together----
Mr. Casten. Yes.
Dr. Watson [continuing]. And recognize what are the
policies, practices, and technologies that can be win/win for
both biodiversity and climate--and not win/lose, because there
are some tradeoffs.
Mr. Casten. Well, hear hear on that. Let me sort of try to
ask the question from a different direction. On the select
Committee on Climate Crisis, we had a panel 2 weeks ago, and I
asked them, if we eliminated all CO2 tomorrow, how
much sea level rise is baked in, and the answer was 2 feet. If
we eliminated all CO2 emissions tomorrow, how much
species loss is baked in?
Dr. Watson. To be honest, I can't give you an answer, but
we'll try and find an answer for you and submit it to the
record. I'll talk to some of the people that will have done
some----
Mr. Casten. OK.
Dr. Watson [continuing]. Type of modeling.
Mr. Casten. OK. And I'm all for the win/win, and I agree
that that's a lot easier, but I want us to be realistic about
what we're looking at here going forward, and the consequences.
Mr. Goodwin, I really appreciate all your testimony on
agriculture. I come from the energy industry, and I think, in
some ways, the energy industry is easy to decarbonize. I think
agriculture is much harder, and I appreciate the good work
you're doing to get that done. Can you help me understand,
what's the range of reasonable carbon reductions we can expect
from agriculture? You know, if you look at arable acres of
land, or whatever the unit, how many tons per acre can we
realistically expect to reduce if we implement all the best
practices you've got in mind?
Mr. Goodwin. Well, I think we start with one farm at a
time. I think a lot of times we take this global look, and try
to solve the problem globally, when these issues are going to
be solved locally. So we start at one farm at a time. And so
the key here is to stop making farms on ranches, or employing
these practices that provide a source and turning them into a
sink, right?
Mr. Casten. So I totally agree with that. I ask the
question because, as we think about what type of research
programs we're going to fund, what types of measures, I'm
trying to understand, as my old head of engineering used to
say, is it bigger than a breadbox, or is it smaller than a
breadbox? What is the potential--and I don't know, Dr. Brauman,
if you want to comment on this, because I know you talked about
some of this research with perennial crops, how much carbon
potential are we talking about that we could sequester in the
ag sector? I think we know that number for other sectors. I'm
not seeing a really good estimate for what that is in the ag
sector.
Dr. Brauman. I think there has been some work done on this,
and I don't have that number on me, but I will certainly find
it and submit it for the----
Mr. Casten. OK.
Dr. Brauman [continuing]. Record. What we do know is that
nature is really the only sink for carbon. A lot of that is in
the ocean. Some of it's biochemical processes, but it's also
about ocean algae, and then what we do on the landscape, which
is, you know, growing trees and growing roots, is really the
only other place that carbon goes. So in terms of research, and
the need to better quantify those numbers, and also find ways
to improve them, is critical.
Mr. Casten. OK. So I've heard, and I don't know if this is
true, I've heard estimates around one to two tons per hectare,
but I don't know that that number includes reduced fertilizer
inputs, where there's so much CO2, which brings me
back to Mr. Goodwin. When you look at farms that have taken
this one farm at a time approach, presumably they've got fewer
inputs, they're getting maybe another, you know, another crop
per season out of the land, what is the economic value to that
farmer? Is this purely charitable, or does the farmer save
money from reduced inputs or higher yields as they go through
these practices?
Mr. Goodwin. Certainly they have increased economic
opportunities to decrease the input. A penny saved is a penny
earned, right? So if we're not applying those inputs, we've
saving money. We've got examples of producers that we work with
that are out-yielding their current county cohorts, and their
county averages, with limited-to-reduced fertility, and
providing sequestered carbon. And that one to two ton number is
not out of the question. Certainly not out of the question for
a majority of the farms in the United States.
Mr. Casten. Well, I see I'm over my time, but I'm delighted
that you ended with that, and I swear I didn't set this up. We
started and ended with a win/win. Let's stay focused on it.
Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Ms. Hill.
Ms. Hill. Thank you, Madam Chair. I was just reading a UC
Santa Barbara Study last week that quantifies the effects of
political lobbying on the likelihood of climate policy
enactment. It finds that $700 million in total lobbying by
corporations around the Waxman-Markey Bill reduced the bill's
chances by 13 percentage points, from 55 percent to 42 percent,
representing $60 billion in expected climate damages due to the
lowered chance of enacting U.S. climate policy. The money isn't
the only cost, of course. Human health and wellbeing are also
heavy costs, such as loss of life, and destruction through
natural disasters like wildfires.
Last year we saw a number of shocking fires in my home
State of California. Two days after election day last November,
the Woolsey fire ignited and burned in Los Angeles and Ventura
Counties. It destroyed 1,643 structures, killed 3 people, and
prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. Throughout
California, communities remain devastated and are trying to
rebuild today. There's no question that one of the key
biodiversity drivers, climate change, is enabling more intense
wildfires in the west. While a certain measure of wildfire is
``good'' for wild areas, so long as people and property can
remain safe, in California we're seeing regions staying so dry
for so long that it's clear that they are not bouncing back.
Dr. Watson and Dr. Brauman, can you talk a little bit about
the relationship between biodiversity and wildfires, and how a
changing climate can impact that relationship?
Dr. Brauman. The interaction between biodiversity and
wildfires is incredibly complex, and part of the reason is
because many of the responses take place over long, but varying
timescales. And so the heterogeneity in landscapes that fires
produce is great for biodiversity in the long term. We see
forest stands, and also grasslands of different ages, with
different species. There are many species, especially in
California, that actually only regenerate with fire. They need
the heat in order for the seedlings to grow.
We also see, in the short term, that there's often
devastating effects to biodiversity, both in terms of the
vegetation, but also the animals who are either killed or
displaced, and that it can take a very long time for some of
that to come back. And one of the reasons that connectivity,
thinking about infrastructure, and really thinking about all of
these drivers together, is important is that if those animals,
if pollen, and seeds, and seedlings have somewhere to go, then
the impacts are much less. But if there's only one forest, and
it's hemmed in in certain ways, then there's not, and so the
impacts can be much greater.
And the other thing that we see is that, with the dryness,
and with decreased and--fires, and therefore higher fire
intensity, that the impacts are bigger, the impacts are longer,
and it's not just on biodiversity, but that's when we start to
see really nasty flooding, really bad for water sources, all
kind of problems. And so, you know, understanding--putting the
time and money in to understand these complex systems and
manage them better is critical.
Ms. Hill. Dr. Watson, do you have anything to add?
Dr. Watson. Not so much on the wildfires, but your first
point about vested interests, one thing that we pointed out in
our report, and IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change) points out in their's, is that effective actions to
have the sort of transformational changes that we need, both to
limit climate change and to save biodiversity, there will be
some key vested interests that will fight against removing some
of these perverse subsidies, against payment for ecosystem
services. And so we have to recognize also the power
asymmetries between different lobby groups. So your first point
is a really crucial one that we brought up in our document,
that we need to deal with power symmetries, we need to deal
with vested interests, and get everybody on board to see that,
in the long term, it's in everybody's best interest to deal
with climate change, and to deal with a loss of biodiversity.
Ms. Hill. Absolutely. Should we be addressing wildfires
differently than the past given your comments about
biodiversity, and how, you know, it's important--in terms of
burn areas are important? And also what types--you mentioned
the research, that we need to put in the money to understand
this, but what types of research are needed, and how do we need
to be thinking about funding it?
Dr. Brauman. So there's been a really great evolution in
fire management as we have learned more. It's been very
responsive to how we understand this, and I am confident that
we will continue to evolve our management strategies as we
learn more, and so, yes, there will need to be changes.
Certainly smaller controlled burns--actually, very similar to
the kind of grassland controlled burns that Mr. Goodwin was
talking about, are very likely to be important.
Understanding some of the more subtle processes that
happen, so things related to soil processes, water, as well as
the really kind of big species and big trees issues I think are
going to be something that's quite important to understand,
especially as these ecosystems regenerate, and we want them to
keep delivering the services that are important for us.
Ms. Hill. Thank you so much. I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Dr. Foster.
Mr. Foster. Thank you, Chairwoman Johnson, and Ranking
Member Lucas, and all of our panelists for joining us. I'd like
to bring up, I guess for not the first time here, the issue of
Asian carp, which is very local to my issue. You know, Asian
carp have already wreaked environmental havoc up and down the
Mississippi River watershed, and it's currently threatening the
Great Lakes, and every river connected to them. The last line
of defense, actually, is in my district, near the Brandon Road
Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers has finalized and approved a proposal of about $778
million which calls for measures such as an engineered channel
with an acoustic air bubble curtain and an electric barrier.
There's currently a temporary electric barrier in place, which
is the best we have.
But not only is this barrier designed to prevent the
catastrophic introduction of Asian carp into the Great Lakes,
but it's also intended to continue to allow for commercial
navigation, which is why it is complicated. And it's now up to
Congress to authorize funding for the Army Corps to go ahead
with this plan, and, you know, in fact, the WRDA (Water
Resources Development Act) bill that supports this funding is
coming up for a vote this week in the U.S. Congress, and I hope
that my Republican and Democratic colleagues come together to
vote for the WRDA bill to prevent this catastrophe.
I guess you're already on the record as saying Asian carp
are highly destructive. So one of my questions is sort of the
longer-term research, and dealing with invasive species. There
are ideas out there like gene drives, like the release of
sterilized males, which, you know, have been successful in some
species. What is your take on that? Are these technologies just
ultimately too dangerous to pursue? Are they things that we
have to pursue because of the problem with invasive species?
Dr. Brauman. So I'm lucky enough to live further up the
Mississippi, where we actually closed one of the locks and dams
to keep the invasive carp out. What's clear is that addressing
issues of invasive species, once they've already arrived, is
always going to be expensive and painful, so the very first
thing we need to be paying attention to is managing better to
make sure that the invasions and the introductions don't happen
in the first place.
Mr. Foster. Right. Or we could just send--in the case of
Asian carp, just send the bill for all of this to Arkansas,
which, in their wisdom, introduced this into ponds that
flooded.
Dr. Brauman. In terms of the specifics of the right way to
address this, there's a lot of them, and I'm not familiar with
the specifics of those, except to say that these kinds of
responses are always going to be riskier than simply not
introducing these species in the first place. There are a wide
range of different kinds of responses. Asian carp are not
considered invasive in Asia, and in part because people like to
eat them. So, as we change public perceptions, there's all
kinds of possibilities out there. But I, again, would really
reinforce that being more strategic about making sure that we
don't have these kinds of invasions is going to be important.
Mr. Foster. Yes. Dr. Watson?
Dr. Watson. Just in mind a comment I'm not at all an expert
on Asian carp, but the next assessment, one of the next big
IPBES reports will be on invasive alien species. There will be
a whole assessment which will come out in about 2, 2-1/2 years
specifically looking at the whole issue of alien invasive
species.
Mr. Foster. And I hope you also look at countermeasures,
and research into countermeasures----
Dr. Watson. Yes.
Mr. Foster [continuing]. Because these things are obviously
double-edged swords, but----
Dr. Watson. Yes.
Mr. Foster [continuing]. You know, potentially great and
very dangerous. I'd also like to bring up the long-term future
of land use for farming. You know, I'm not sure I'm completely
on board with the narrative that, you know, there's this ever
increasing demand for food and crop land. You know, the
population's projected to hit the peak around I think 2070, or
sometime like that, and decrease afterwards. Yields on crops
like corn have been doubling every 20 years, so that, you know,
if you'd only need a certain amount of crop, that will cut by a
factor of two the amount of land you need. There are
technologies like artificial meat, where, you know, in
principle these Impossible Whoppers that are now going to be
nationwide at the end of this year, use up I think about one-
sixteenth the land per hamburger. And so, you know, it may be
that actually, you know, the need for land dedicated to farming
will actually peak even earlier than the population, and start
declining. I was just wondering if you have, you know, is there
anyone who does those sort of projections, and looks at the
economic impacts of that?
Dr. Brauman. There are projections along these lines in the
IPBES report. We actually looked at a number of scenarios, and
some of those involve sustainable futures that include a
combination of on-the-ground technologies, as well as reduction
in per capita consumption. And so, yes, you're absolutely
right, there's lots of potential for not needing to expand
farmland as we both change our diets, and also as we increase
yields in places where there's lots of opportunity for
increasing yields.
Mr. Foster. Yes. And, like I say, I haven't even mentioned,
you know, these factory farms, in the sense of, you know,
growing crops under grow lights, where you can get six crops a
year, and don't have the shipping cost to the cities. And it'd
be nice to have a forward look at what agriculture looks like
100 years from now so we know what technologies to invest in.
And I think I'm over time, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you, Dr. Foster. Mr. Beyer.
Mr. Beyer. Madam Chair, and Ranking Member Lucas, thank you
very much. This is fascinating, especially in light of the UN's
report on the accelerated loss of biodiversity. I am very
grateful and impressed by the very clear, direct drivers which
showed up in a couple of your reports, that changes in land and
sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change,
pollution, and invasion of alien species. And it's very clear
that we're destroying the core of our livelihood--food, health,
and economy--and that we're in grave danger.
As a Member of Congress, I'm always struggling for what is
it that we can do, what are our direct pieces. Let me quote the
wonderful physicist, David Park, who said, ``physics is as much
a creative mind as it is a body of knowledge. It is the
imperative, simplify.'' To sort of simplify, let me lay out
four things. First, on carbon, we know, and I think this
Congress will grapple with carbon pricing, some way to make
carbon much more expensive, and stimulate everything else,
including changes in our behavior. And there are some really
good bills. Jerry McNerney, who was up here, has the lead on
one of the ones on carbon sequestration. And, once again, there
are dozens of experiments around the world right now on taking
carbon out of the air, out of the water, out of smokestacks.
I was proud to introduce the Wildlife Corridors
Conservation Act last week, with Senator Udall and Congressman
Vern Buchanan, to ensure it's really to incentivize State and
local governments to create corridors so that native wildlife,
including fish, animals, plants, butterflies, continue to
migrate, adapt, thrive in the face of increasing threats, just
to give these species a fighting chance, and it's a critical
step forward.
So those are a couple of concrete things, and, by the way,
I'd like to ask for unanimous consent to submit a statement
from the Wildlands Network on habitat connectivity, without
objection. But Dr.----
Chairwoman Johnson. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Beyer. Thank you. Dr. Watson, Dr. E.O. Wilson, who
shows up at some of these, in reacting to Dr. Monfort's notion
that we're going to build 15 million new miles of roads by
2050, has talked about half Earth. In fact, his last book is
that we should devote half of the terrestrial planet to half
Earth. What do you think, and what's the way forward? How do
we, as Members of Congress, begin to make that happen?
Dr. Watson. Yes. We didn't address that directly. We did
talk about protected areas. To me, the half Earth concept, I
think we'd have to define what you mean by it. People live all
over the world today, so the question is how do you integrate
people into a protected area? What we did say is that while
we've got a lot of protected areas, much of the key
biodiversity is not inside our protected areas. Second, many of
the protected areas are not well managed, and third, none of
the protected area designs take into account climate change as
species move, and as boundaries of ecosystems move.
What we pointed out was, yes, we should focus on protected
areas, with appropriate design and corridors, but we also have
to recognize that much of biodiversity will always lie outside
of protected areas, and therefore we have to integrate
biodiversity concerns into agriculture, timber, transportation,
forestry, et cetera. So it's a combination of how do we do
multi-sectoral planning, recognize you don't only think about
the economics of a project, or a technology, you think about
the implications for biodiversity. So, yes, I think it makes
sense to expand the protected areas, both marine and
terrestrial, but at the same time, I don't think that you can
rely on protected areas alone to really do the job.
Mr. Beyer. OK. Great. Thank you very much.
Dr. Monfort. May I make a comment on that?
Mr. Beyer. Yes, please, Dr. Monfort.
Dr. Monfort. Well, first of all, this is the Science
Committee, so I'd like to make a plug for science, and the
Smithsonian is a knowledge institution. And I would point out
that we know very little about biodiversity, and how much there
is that exists, and how it's distributed in space and time, and
we're discovering new species all the time--the Natural History
Museum, every year they discover between 3 to 400 new species
every year. There are thousands of species sitting, waiting to
be identified, for example, so we know that there's great
diversity, but we need to know more.
We don't even know where organisms move. Most organisms
that we're trying to save, or we're talking about with
biodiversity, we don't even know where they go throughout their
life cycle. So we need fundamental knowledge----
Mr. Beyer. OK.
Dr. Monfort [continuing]. To be able to make good
decisions.
Mr. Beyer. All right. Thank you very much. Dr. Brauman, I
noticed that you had the Ph.D. in interdisciplinary program and
environment and resources. And picking up what Dr. Monfort said
about 200,000 years to get to 1 billion people, and 200 more to
get to 8 billion, there's incredibly little conversation on
Capitol Hill about population, whether it peaks out at 2070 or
not. How do we begin to have a responsible conversation on what
the carrying capacity of the planet is, especially as it
relates not just to water, not just to land, but to
biodiversity?
Dr. Brauman. What's critical about the idea of carrying
capacity is the question of what does per capita consumption
look like? And, with animals that we study, it's not so hard to
figure out how much they need to eat, but with people, it turns
out that you don't actually drink very much water every day,
and yet the amount of water that people need is bigger than
that, and varies widely around the world. And so it's almost
impossible to have a conversation about carrying capacity
without talking about consumption and per capital consumption.
Mr. Beyer. All right. Thank you very much. Madam Chair, I
yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Ms. Wexton.
Ms. Wexton. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the
members of the panel for coming out today. I have really
enjoyed your testimony, and, although I'm a little bit fearful
and frightened about our future, I also feel some optimism
about our prospects.
Dr. Monfort, you'll have to excuse me, because I do have to
take a moment to engage in a little bit of fangirl action for
the National Zoo, and the Conservation Biology Institute. I
represent northern Virginia here in Congress, and I am also the
mother of 2 kids who are now 14 and 16 years old, but both of
them attended zoo camps. We have spent literally thousands of
hours, I think, at the National Zoo in one way or another, and
we always look forward to that Saturday in fall when we could
go to Front Royal and check out the Conservation Biology
Institute. What you guys have done with the breeding programs
for the scimitar horned oryx and the Przewalski's wild horses
is amazing. Although I know you're limited by the genetic stock
that you have, what you have managed to do with those
populations is incredible.
But I would also note that, while the brush-tailed bettong
are very adorable, I would be remiss if I didn't use my
opportunity to be speaking with you to express my
disappointment that the Smithsonian no longer--and the National
Zoo no longer houses or breeds the black-and-rufous giant
elephant shrew. Those were always a fan favorite, and they
certainly were mine, but I thank you for everything that you
have done, and for your testimony here today.
Dr. Porter, I want to thank you for your passion. It was
clear in your presentation how passionately you feel about
this, and I was really glad to hear it, because I have a
brother who was a non-commissioned officer in the NOAA Corps,
so I was glad to see that you participate in some of those NOAA
research voyages, and my siblings and I area all SCUBA divers.
I think my first checkout dive was about 28 or 29 years ago,
and just in that period of time, what I have seen, in terms of
the degradation, and the damage to the Caribbean corals, is
really frightening and disappointing to me, because I want to
be able to take my kids on SCUBA diving trips someday and show
them the beauty of the undersea world, and those reefs, and I'm
not sure they're going to be there.
So you spoke a lot about the increase in temperature as
being the biggest threat, and that----
Dr. Porter. Yes.
Ms. Wexton [continuing]. Clearly that's the case, but can
you speak a little bit about ocean acidification? Because
that's something this Committee is working on at this time, and
may be able to hopefully have some good results. I think Ms.
Bonamici is back, and she has taken the lead on that. So if you
can speak a little bit about acidification, and the impacts
that that has as well?
Dr. Porter. Thank you. CO2 has two impacts on
the ocean. One is to serve as a blanket to raise its
temperature, the other is to dissolve into the ocean and
acidify it, because CO2 causes water to be acidic.
And I focused on CO2's problem with temperature
because that's the first one that's going to get coral reefs,
but the second one is exactly what you said, ocean
acidification.
We have a technical term for these two problems in coral
reef ecology. They're called the evil twins, and we're worried
about both researches going on, thank you for understanding
that, and further research on ocean acidification, which is
done by all these agencies, is extremely important. Thank you.
Ms. Wexton. Thank you. Now, my district starts just outside
of Washington, D.C., but it does go out pretty far west, into
some pretty rural agricultural communities. And I recently met
with some farmers in my district, some of whom are starting to
implement no till and cover crops to improve their soil quality
and soil health. Many of them were also doing this for the
first time, so that tells me that there is a new understanding
of the need for this, and a desire among agricultural producers
to do it. But we don't talk about soil health really just--writ
large the same way that we talk about clean air or clean water,
but it's just as important, in my mind.
So, in general, Mr. Goodwin, do you think soil carbon
health has gotten the right amount of attention in the past,
and, if not, what can we do to increase the attention on it?
Mr. Goodwin. I don't. I certainly think any time we can
talk about ecology, and any time we can talk about how carbon
works in a system--most people hear CO2, they're
afraid of it, but carbon is the actual driver in most
ecological systems. That's what plants feed on. And so we have
to do a better job of telling our story, most certainly,
because those producers that are making those changes, they
have to believe in it, and when they do believe in it, it takes
about 3 years to change practices. To change that practice, I
mean, we're talking about changing equipment, everything. And
so, once that has been made, in my 20 years of working with
producers on the ground, I have yet to meet one producer that's
made this significant change, has been successful, and then has
gone back to conventional ways.
Ms. Wexton. Thank you very much. And so it's an issue of
convincing them that it's best for them, and for best
practices, but then also maybe providing some incentives to
make it possible for them to make that transition? Is that
correct?
Mr. Goodwin. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Wexton. OK. Thank you very much. I see my time has
expired, so I'll yield back.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Ms. Bonamici.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much, Chairwoman Johnson, and
Ranking Member Lucas. I'm happy to be able to join you from the
Education Committee. The findings of the IPBES Global
Assessment are stark. We know that the health of our ecosystems
is rapidly deteriorating, and we don't want to get to the point
where the consequences will be irreversible. And I'm glad that
the report recognizes the multi-coordinated approach to this,
and all the drivers of biodiversity loss. I see it as, you
know, not only the need to reduce pollution control, invasive
species, address the climate crisis, sustainably use our land
and water, protect natural habitats--really going to take all
of that together.
Dr. Watson, you recently told National Geographic that your
biggest personal concern is the state of the oceans. As to co-
chair of the House Oceans Caucus, I wanted to call attention to
this statement as we recognize National Ocean Month, and
Capitol Hill Ocean Week. Our oceans are often left out of the
equation when we're responding to the climate crisis, but
they're home to most of the life on the planet, and our
response to the biodiversity crisis has to put our oceans at
the forefront of the solution.
So in your testimony you mentioned that climate change is
projected to become as important, or more important, than other
drivers of biodiversity loss in the coming decades. Oceans are
absorbing more than 90 percent of excess heat trapped in the
atmosphere from greenhouse gas emissions, and, of course,
causing harmful algal blooms, which produce acid that's harmful
to shellfish, like our Oregon Dungeness crab, also may be
poisonous to humans, as we know. And as halves decompose, they
create the hypoxic dead zones, where marine life cannot
survive. So last Congress we authorized the Harmful Algal
Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act, but hypoxia and
harmful algal blooms are often conflated at the Federal level,
so I'm working on legislation to address these issues
separately. So is there a need or opportunity for dedicated
Federal funding for hypoxia mitigation strategies to protect
marine species, and what should Congress be doing to support
those efforts?
Dr. Watson. The answer's basically yes to your question,
the reason I say that the oceans are a concern, although, I'm
concerned about all ecosystems. The concern about the oceans at
the moment is we probably spend less attention on the oceans.
The plastics in the oceans, we've got to stop it. Most of the
plastic is coming from Southeast Asia and the big rivers in
Southeast Asia, so we have to worry about the plastics and
ocean acidification and the overfishing throughout many parts
of the world. The U.S. actually is probably one of the better
countries in the world in managing fisheries, but in most parts
of the world we're fishing further from shore, deeper into the
ocean, smaller and smaller fish, so we have a problem of
overexploitation.
Coral reefs, as you've already heard from Dr. Porter, are
unbelievably sensitive, not only to climate change,
temperature, and ocean acidification at 1.5+ C, and we're
already at one to 1.1, maybe 10 to 30 percent of corals could
survive. At 2+ C, probably only 1 percent of corals could
survive. And, to be honest, a projection that I made, and
actually been supported by much better studies than mine, is
we're on a pathway to 3 to 3-1/2 or 4+ C. The Paris agreement,
which wants us to limit it to 2+ C, and even more, 1.5, we're
not on a pathway to 1.5 or 2. We're on a pathway of 3 to 4.
Ms. Bonamici. I'm going to try to get another question in
to follow up on what you mentioned about plastics. Every minute
the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic is dumped
into the oceans, according to the UN. It's astounding, eight
million tons a year. So I want to talk a little bit about
microplastics, and I think this was brought up earlier, but to
follow up, we're finding pieces of microplastic in marine life,
blocking digestive tracts, altering growth, and in some cases
killing animals and marine organisms. We don't know how long it
takes for plastic to completely biodegrade. The estimates are,
like, 450 years to never. I thank the Committee for getting rid
of the plastic bottles. We have cups, we have reusable water
bottles, it's a step.
But you're talking about many of the priorities of the
bipartisan Oceans Caucus with the fishing and plastics. But I'm
working with Senators Whitehouse and Sullivan, and
Representative Young, the Oceans Caucus co-chair, on Save Our
Seas 2.0 Act to take further steps to address marine debris.
You're right, a lot of it comes from other places, but it is a
global problem. The assessment found that marine plastic
pollution has increased tenfold since 1980, affecting at least
267 species, 86 percent of marine turtles, and 44 percent of
sea birds, and 43 percent of marine mammals. So what do we
currently know about the effects of microplastics on our
ecosystem, and what research do we need in the future? Looks
like Dr. Porter wants to answer----
Dr. Porter. Yes.
Ms. Bonamici [continuing]. That one.
Dr. Porter. We know very little, which is unfortunate, but
we do know that the microplastic particles, after there has
been some degradation, are, in fact, more dangerous than the
large particles that draw everyone's attention.
Ms. Bonamici. Right.
Dr. Porter. As I mentioned earlier, it is estimated that by
2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. I thank
you for your service on the Oceans Committee.
Ms. Bonamici. Well, thank you. And I see my time has
expired. I yield back. Thank you.
Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. That's the end of
our witnesses, but before we close this hearing I want to thank
all of our witnesses for testifying today. You're a superb
group.
The record will remain open for 2 weeks for additional
statements from Members, or any additional questions the
Committee may ask the witnesses. Our witnesses are now excused,
and our Committee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:30 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
Appendix I
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Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Responses by Dr. James Porter
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Appendix II
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Additional Material for the Record
Statements submitted by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson
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Statement submitted by Representative Lizzie Fletcher
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Statement submitted by Representative Don Beyer
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