By David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior
 
The mission of the Department of the Interior (DOI) is to protect both land and water. Through our Bureaus -- including the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals Management Service -- DOI is steward of 429 million acres (19 percent of the America's land surface), to include responsibility for the health of 10,831 river miles.

 As the Federal agency charges with managing public resources, it is not immediately obvious where oceans fit in -- but there is of course a connection. The vitality, distribution and abundance of the resources on our lands -- and their value to the nation -- depend on a host of factors, including climate. The world we live in is completely interdependent. Our economies, food supplies, environment, even our health are globally entwined. In society today, as in nature, all things are connected.

 At the Department of the Interior perhaps the most important nexus between the land and the ocean is climate. The oceans drive our climate and our weather, and so affect the character of the ecosystems upon which we depend.

 Global climate change is one of the most ominous threats confronting society. It is perhaps THE environmental issue that will dominate the lives of our children and grandchildren. The observations are compelling: global temperatures are rising; rainfall has increased by about 1% in the last century; and in the last century sea level has risen about 4-8 inches from both melting glaciers and thermal expansion from rising ocean temperatures. Within 100 years the scientific consensus is that we are likely to experience a global average temperature increase of 2 - 9 degrees Fahrenheit and sea level rise in the range of 4 inches to 3 feet.

The Role of the Department of the Interior

What do these changes and projections mean for the Department of the Interior? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, backed by many scientific studies, says that when climate changes, the boundaries of our lands will shift. We will have to draw a line that eliminates about a third of the Everglades National Park, because that third will be under the sea in your lifetime. We will be redrawing a map of Florida and Louisiana, and all the coastal states along the Atlantic, with an enormous invasion of seawater and destruction of coastal ecosystems, with rippling effects into the coastlines and fisheries.

There is stark evidence that climate change may already be having an impact on natural systems in many parts of the country. We are seeing real changes in wildlife patterns and in the distributions of species of commercial value.

The soon to be released U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the Nation will provide a detailed exploration of the consequences of climate change for the nation. It will examine the possible coping mechanisms that exist to adapt to climate change. Some of the information already available shows that: in Monterey Bay tidal sea life is migrating northward in response to warming ocean temperatures; and in Alaska spruce bark beetle are taking advantage of the recorded five-degree temperature increase, decimating spruce forests.

This is where the Department of the Interior comes into the story. When people visit Glacier National Park they naturally expect to see glaciers. But it is actually pretty hard to find a glacier in the Park these days. On the way to see Grinnell Glacier you go up a trail passing a sign that reads, "The glacier was here in 1900." Farther along there is another sign that marks the glacier's limits in 1920. Finally, you reach the glacier only to read a sign that says, "You're just in time, because these glaciers will be totally gone in 2030. -- The glaciers have retreated 50 percent since the beginning of the century. And similar changes are occurring worldwide.

What does all this mean for our natural environment? The Department of the Interior cannot pick up and move our Parks. Yet many species of plants and animals, particularly those on the edges of their ranges, will be looking for suitable conditions at higher latitudes to replicate current conditions. Species that used to move gradually across the landscape in response to slow climatic change, will become isolated as the climate mores rapidly, triggering yet another facet of the species extinction crisis already in play.

To protect our natural systems (upon which all people depend), natural resource stewards must begin now to manage ecosystems in a way that will increase their ability to adapt and become resilient to the effects of climate change key element of such a strategy is to make sure that natural areas are connected North, South, East and West. Connecting ecosystems across the landscape will be critical to helping adaptation occur.

In the early 1990s the Department of the Interior began to invest in climate change research in the U.S. Geological Survey, the science arm of the Department. We hold several leadership roles within the U.S Global Change Research Program -- the Federal interagency climate change research team. Our current budget request for fiscal year 2001 is about $25 million. Our programs and activities are designed to conduct basic research; to reduce energy use and cut our greenhouse gas emissions at Interior facilities and in our motor fleet; and, as I mentioned earlier, a primary goal is to understand how to manage our lands so that they can adapt, and remain healthy as they experience the changes in climate that are water. Through is key.

To achieve this latter goal, we must ensure that a priority in the international climate change treaty negotiations that are in play is to maintain and enhance existing ecosystems, and to guard against incentives that may lead to destruction or conversion of existing forests.

Sparking Action

Climate change is not an issue that is at the forefront of the mind of the American people. It is not surprising though. How do you call people to action over a threat that seems largely invisible? Like the vast expanse of ocean that covers the globe, the atmosphere seems infinite, so it is almost impossible to imagine that it can be changed. Yet both the atmosphere and the ocean are at risk.

Informing and igniting the interest of the American people is the single most important step in moving our country -- and the world to action. Replacing fear by that legendary spark of hope is the hallmark of our democracy and can drive the innovation so unique to America.

When the Clean Air Act mandated the use of the catalytic converters to limit automobile exhaust, the auto industry predicted the collapse of our economy.But the switch was made, and so began a technological revolution that has demonstrated conclusively that economic growth and environmental protection can advance together.The environmental technology products and services industry was worth $484 billion in 1998, and projections for 2005 are $554 billion.Is this a miracle?Or is it simply evidence of the American ingenuity that defines our Nation?

The American people must engage on this issue.There is a role for everyone in helping to prepare for the environmental changes that are likely to be coming.To protect our natural areas one key step is to continue supporting Federal, State and local efforts to acquire ecologically important lands.Saving open space, farmlands and forests is essential to protecting and promoting the integrity of our ecosystems.

But we cannot hope or expect that public ownership will ever provide the connections necessary to preserve natural areas.We can become better stewards of our private lands -- including in our own backyards.Today, many people are turning their backyards and schoolyards into ecological sanctuaries as an alternative to traditional landscaping.They are quietly leading the way to a national future where backyards AND public lands link to form a network of corridors across the land.Imagine a time when commercial and residential landscaping beautify our neighborhoods while at the same time reducing pressing ecological concerns like climate change, biodiversity protection, water use and pesticide pollution.

Americans value their neighborhoods and their local resources.Today, those who care about the natural world are uniquely positioned to strike some sparks, and perhaps start to change our attitudes about, and understanding of, the risks posed by climate change.The Department of the Interior has a vested interest in analyzing the implications that climate change may have on the U.S., and in determining what actions we should take to meet our responsibilities under changing climatic conditions.