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In America, large and devastating wildfires that were once relatively uncommon have become an increasingly common occurrence.

In California, six of the seven largest wildfires in the history of the state have happened in 2020 or 2021, and more acres have been burned to the ground this year than any other in recent history with a significant amount of “fire season” still to go.

But it is not just California.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are currently 80 active, large fires happening in the United States in Idaho, Montana, Washington, California, Oregon, Wyoming, Nevada, Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan and Utah.

And it is not just the United States.

This year, wildfires in Siberia — fueled by record-breaking temperatures and drought — were larger than all of the world’s wildfires combined.

A European heatwave sparked wildfires in France, Greece, and Italy.

When we talk about the existential threat of climate change, this is what we are talking about:

We are talking about more floods, more rising sea levels, more extreme weather, more ocean acidification, more drought, more famine, more disease and more human suffering.

We are talking about the mass migration and displacement of more than 100 million people in Latin America, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa by 2050 according to the World Bank.

We are talking about $100 trillion in lost economic activity throughout the world by the end of the century.

We are talking about the death of more than 1 million people across the globe — every single year — from factors of malnutrition, heat stress and tropical diseases like malaria.

We are talking about the substantial increase of war, social unrest and cross-border tensions as countries compete and fight for increasingly scarce resources.

We are talking about major portions of New York, Hong Kong, London being at risk of chronic flooding with others like Miami, New Orleans and Atlantic City going largely underwater and becoming uninhabitable.

But I want to talk more about the wildfires raging across the world today, because this is not simply a matter of a few trees burning down in places no one lives — as if that would not be bad enough.

More and larger wildfires mean more smoke-filled air that is increasingly dangerous to breathe. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the effects of wildfire smoke include reduced lung function, more asthma, heart failure and that children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the effects. Some estimates say the effects of air pollution in the United States will lead to the deaths of 295,000 people between now and the year 2030.

More and larger wildfires mean more climate refugees. As a global community, war in Syria that displaced several million people destabilized governments and aided the rise of authoritarianism — what will happen when more than 100 million people are looking for homes?

More and larger wildfires mean more mudslides. As trees burn down and soil is damaged, heavy rains dramatically increase the likelihood of mudslides and heavy debris flow, turning the charred remains of trees and forest floors into weapons crashing into property and people. According to California’s Department of Conservation, there is increased risk of mudslides and debris flow for up to 5 years after wildfires.

More and larger wildfires means more damage to our drinking water supply. According to the United States Geological Survey, 80 percent of our country’s freshwater originates on forest lands. In one example of the impact wildfires can have on our drinking water, tens of millions of dollars were spent removing debris and treating water after recent wildfires in Colorado.

More and larger wildfires mean the trees that are meant to store carbon become carbon emitters, creating a vicious cycle in which more carbon pollution leads to more wildfires, which leads to more carbon pollution, which leads to more wildfires.

So when we talk about climate change, this is just one of the things we are talking about. And unless we have the courage to take on the greed, lies and irresponsibility of the fossil fuel industry, the worst is yet to come — our future will make the wildfires of today look like the good old days.

We have a fundamental choice to make. We can listen to the climate deniers and not worry about the impact of climate change and turn our backs on our children and grandchildren.

Or we can listen to the scientists who tell us that we have got to act boldly and aggressively to prevent a climate catastrophe.

In my view, we have spent far too long and wasted too much time discussing whether or not climate change is real. This debate was not driven by science but by a decades-long campaign of lies, distortion and deceit funded by the fossil fuel industry.

That is just one reason our reconciliation bill is so important. It will make massive investments in energy efficiency and retrofitting homes and buildings, it will help transform our energy systems from fossil fuels to wind, solar and other forms of sustainable energy, it will cut carbon emissions in agriculture, it will move us boldly to the electrification of transportation, it will invest heavily in climate justice — and much more.

But if it is going to pass, we need to keep up the pressure.

Every day we need to send a message that people across this country — in so-called “red states,” “blue states,” and “purple states” — want action to preserve the habitability of our planet for future generations.

So I am asking:

Can you please add your name to tell Congress you support our reconciliation bill that will help our country address the existential threat of climate change in a serious way?

ADD YOUR NAME: [link removed]

Nothing less than the future of our planet is at stake. So thank you for making your voice heard on this important issue.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders


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