“The blazing temperatures that scorched America in 2012 are a bitter taste of the climate chaos ahead.”
The National Climatic Data Center reported that 2012 was the hottest in recorded U.S. history (i.e., since 1895). “The temperature differences between years are usually measured in fractions of a degree,” read an item in The New York Times, “but last year blew away the previous record, set in 1998, by a full degree Fahrenheit.” The news confirms the need for rapid, ambitious action on climate, starting with full implementation of the Clean Air Act.
“This puts the heat on President Barack Obama to take immediate action against carbon pollution,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director. “The blazing temperatures that scorched America in 2012 are a bitter taste of the climate chaos ahead. Science tells us that our rapidly warming planet will endure more heat waves, droughts and extreme weather. The president needs to start making full use of the Clean Air Act to fight greenhouse gas emissions, before it’s too late.”
So far more than 40 communities around the country agree — Broward County, Fla., just joined the Center’s Clean Air Cities campaign. Will your city be next?
To learn more about the Clean Air Cities campaign, and how your city can join, go to the Center for Biological Diversity’s website: <http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/clean_air_cities/index.html>
