Heat and wildfire smoke show we need to act faster on climate
Climate change is undeniable across America this week. Record-breaking heat is blanketing the South. “Temperatures will be up to 20 degrees above normal for much of the region through at least the weekend, with no nighttime relief,” the New York Times reported today. Scientists are confidently saying that human-caused climate change made this heatwave at least five times more likely. At the same time, smoke from ongoing Canadian wildfires has spread to the Midwest and is moving east. This has prompted air quality alerts across 17 states, according to the Washington Post. Climate change is, of course, exacerbating the hot, dry conditions that fuel wildfires. All that news is enough to give you a hefty dose of eco-anxiety. You can visit CCL’s Resilience Hub and check out the top article about coping with those feelings. Pro tip: One of the best ways to cope is to actually 👏 do 👏 something 👏 Our suggestion? Write to your members of Congress today! Our online tool will identify your representative and senators, and it includes a template message that you can personalize. Tell Congress these extreme weather events show we need to move faster on climate solutions like a price on carbon.
In other news this week, our recent June Conference and Lobby Day continues to make headlines in local news around the country: • North Carolina meteorologist Elisa Raffa published a piece about rising carbon levels, tying in quotes and lobby day photos from CCL volunteers in Charlotte. • Virginia’s WHRO public radio station featured some of our student volunteers from the College of William and Mary discussing their trip to D.C. and their meetings on the Hill. • Georgia CCLer Gage Bailey wrote a moving op-ed about his lobbying experience, calling for more bipartisan climate work. “We are one people, one country, and have the same crisis staring us in the face,” he writes. |
