In the keynote speech at the University of Hawaii’s Conference on Sustainability, Clean Energy, and Climate Change, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) pulled no punches in attacking climate change deniers, comparing them to those in the tobacco industry who, up until the late 1990s, refuted science that showed the link between cigarettes and addiction and disease. 

“Let me be clear,” said Boxer, “the level of scientific certainty on manmade climate change is about the same as the consensus among top scientists that cigarettes are deadly.  Investigative reporting has clearly ascertained that those who led the fight against health warnings on tobacco were involved in the climate denial movement from the beginning.”

Cooperation—a thing of the past

Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, has been an eyewitness to the progression of climate change through the chamber.  She notes that she was initially optimistic about bipartisan support to fight climate change. 

“On October 7, 1992—one month before I was first elected to the Senate—at least two-thirds of the Senate voted to ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” said Boxer.  “In 2008, 54 Senators supported tackling climate change through comprehensive legislation, and in 2009, the House of Representatives passed climate change legislation by a vote of 219 to 212.  Unfortunately, in just a few short years those of us who want to take meaningful action have been forced instead to put our efforts into defending our landmark environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act, from devastating rollbacks by Republicans in the House.”

Climate Action Task Force

Boxer used the speech to publicize the Senate Climate Action Task Force she formed in January 2014 with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), with the goal of “raising the visibility” of climate change with the intent of “changing minds around here.”  On March 10, 11 senators in the task force held an all-night session on the Senate floor to demand that the Senate do more to address climate change.  The task force now comprises 22 senators—20 Democrats and 2 independents.   

Boxer said the nation should follow the path paved by her home state. 

“My state's fuel efficiency standards that require the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon have become a model for the nation,” said Boxer.  “By 2025, 15 percent of new cars sold in California will be powered by electricity or hydrogen fuel. California's clean energy plan also requires a 10 percent cut in the amount of carbon in fuels by 2020.  Since 2011, this carbon reduction in fuels has already resulted in the equivalent of taking half a million vehicles off the road.  And California has put a price on carbon that requires power plants to pay for carbon pollution credits, which has raised more than $1 billion.  That revenue has been directed to state programs that address climate change or will soon be returned to Californians as a climate credit that they can reinvest in energy efficiency upgrades to their homes.”

Keystone and ‘misery’

Boxer also made her position on the Keystone XL pipeline eminently clear.  The U.S. Department of State is currently deliberating on whether to grant TransCanada’s request to build the pipeline on U.S. soil.  The line would transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil sands from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska. 

“Tar sands oil is much more carbon intensive, producing 17 percent more carbon per barrel than domestic crude oil, and if the dirty tar sands oil is produced for the Keystone XL pipeline, it will open up production even more,” said Boxer.  “Canada is seeking to increase tar sands production by 300 percent by 2030.” 

In addition, Boxer noted new concerns about health impacts that would occur by expanding oil sands production and has asked Secretary of State John Kerry to conduct a “comprehensive health impact study on tar sands oil and the Keystone XL pipeline.”

“Current information tells us that misery follows the tar sands from extraction, to transportation, to refining, to waste storage,” said Boxer.  “We should leave them where they are.”

Boxer’s speech