This is Scientific Americans 60 Second Science. I'm Steve Mursky.

In West Africa, our troops, our scientists, our doctors, our nurses, our health care workers are rolling back Ebola, saving countless lives and stopping the spread of disease.

I could not be proud of them and I thank this Congress for your bipartisan support of their efforts.

But the job is not yet done and the world needs to use this lesson to build a more effective

global effort to prevent the spread of future pandemics, invest in smart development,

and eradicate extreme poverty.

2014 was the planet's warmest year on record. Now one year doesn't make a trend,

but this does. Fourteen of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years

of this century.

I've heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they're not scientists, but we don't

have enough information to act.

Well, I'm not a scientist either, but you know what? I know a lot of really good scientists at

NASA and at NOAA and at our major universities and the best scientists in the world are

all telling us that our activities are changing the climate.

And if we don't act forcefully, we'll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can

trigger greater migration and conflict and hunger around the globe.

The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.

And that's why over the past six years we've done more than ever to combat climate change from the way we produce energy

to the way we use it.

That's why we've set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history.

And that's why I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning

back the clock on our efforts.

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