Hello. I hope you are all doing well today. My name is Martin Muloski; I am a graduate student 

studying biology at the University of Illinois at Springfield. I come here. not only concerned 

about my own generation. but every generation coming after it. Ninety-seven percent of the 

scientific community is in agreement on man-made climate change. As a biologist I can tell you 

that if you don't want to believe the scientists. you can always just look at nature. Animals 

ranging from tiny insects to large mammals are now moving to higher latitudes. Plant species 

around the globe are blooming earlier in the year. This is not a conspiracy put on by the 

butterflies and plants. The United States just saw its hottest twelve months in recorded history. 

This is the new normal. Right now what we need to focus on is damage control and to minimize 

climate change as much as possible. There are some who may say we aren't causing it. that 

climate change occurs naturally. The Earth's climate changes in response to whatever the 

dominant forces on the planet are at the time. In the past it was caused by a variety of reasons: 

From volcanic eruptions to the activity of organisms living on the planet at the time. Right now 

we are the dominant force behind this change. This has been scientifically tested and proven. 

Once again the scienti tic community is in agreement on this. One oft he most alarming things 

about this change in particular. is that past changes were usually very gradual. taking place over 

the course of thousands. even millions of years. The change that humans arc causing is occurring 

in a geological blink of an eye. This sudden change is dangerous tor many reasons; one of them 

being how a sudden change in temperature greatly effects the water cycle. Inevitably we are 

going to see wet areas. like Bangladesh. and Seattle experience more rain and catastrophic 

t1oods. Dry areas like downstate Illinois and most of the Midwest, are going to experience much 

more drought. I have lived in downstate Illinois for the past year. After receiving an abundance 

of snow every winter. they experienced virtually no winter this year. The local people I've 
talked to there are alarmed by this. Last summer centrallllinois also experienced a very 

devastating drought. One could not see a single green patch of grass for miles. What had once 

been healthy rivers and streams !lowing with fresh water were now low stagnant ponds. 

Droughts caused by climate change are going to create big problems for agriculture and will 

likely lead to an increase in food prices nationwide. The price of many important crops, such as 

corn. soybeans and grain will increase as a result. The price of meat will also increase since 

many of these crops arc used to feed livestock and other animals. Other products that include 

corn and grain based substances in their ingredients will also increase in price. A recent study 

from Stanford and Purdue Universities showed the impact that climate change is going to have 

on com will greatly outweigh the impact caused by changes in oil prices. Many of you might be 

sick of the rise in gas prices or sick of people complaining about gas prices. just wait until the 

American people are complaining about how they can't afford dinner. This is why we must act 

now to prevent the economic. agricultural. and environmental problems that will occur in our 

lifetimes. As of yesterday. May 23.2012. according to the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. the carbon content of the atmosphere is currently three hundred ninety-three 

parts per million. To minimize the effects of climate change we need to get that number down to 

three hundred fifty parts per million. In order to preserve this Great Nation. and civilization in its 

current state. we are going to need to make changes. About a hundred and fifty years ago Charles 

Darwin wrote a book that was so profound, accurate. and relevant that it is still used by 

biologists today. Darwin would lay out the foundation for understanding survival when he said. 

'·It is not the strongest of the species that survives. nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the 

one that is the most adaptable to change." Thank you for your time.