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Hearing on Global Warming and Wildfires Today, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), will hold a hearing examining the link between global warming and wildfire. The following is the statement of Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope: The devastating fires that raged through Southern California this fall serve as a reminder of why we need to act now to curb global warming. If global warming continues unchecked, we can expect to see more and more catastrophic fires like the ones in California. Scientists tell us that global warming will make for much longer fire seasons as warm temperatures prompt earlier snow melt in the mountains. In the Rockies, fire season has already grown by more than two months as a result of increased temperatures. Coupled with other changes in the type and abundance of vegetation on wild lands, this longer season creates a recipe for frequent, mega-fires unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. Federal agencies charged with protecting communities from wildfire are already struggling as a result of years of misdirected priorities. As global warming changes forests in the West, these agencies will face fires that are more frequent, more unpredictable, and more difficult to manage. Fire is just one of a number of public health crises we will face if we don’t act now to curb global warming. We can also expect to see spikes in disease, drought, famine and war. If we hope to change this scenario, the first thing we need to do is pass legislation that will cut global warming pollution. The energy bill currently before Congress could go a long way towards cutting emissions—if it includes both a strong fuel economy standard and a renewable electricity standard. We have an opportunity right now to combat the worst effects of global warming. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to do what we can to prevent the kind of large-scale disaster we saw in California this fall. |
