SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Nation's Top Science Groups Demand Bold Climate Action From Congress--Now!
'We owe it to our children and to our children's children to take bold action now'
Jun 29, 2016
The nation's top scientific organizations have an important reminder for members of Congress: human caused climate change is real, its impacts are already being felt in the U.S., and only a significant slashing of greenhouse gas emissions will stave off the worst risks.
The 31 groups including the American Meteorological Society, the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)--organizations representing "millions of scientists," according to the Associated Press--issued their statement in a letter (pdf ) to the lawmakers dated Tuesday.
Impacts in the U.S. include "extreme weather events, sea level rise, and increased risk of regional water scarcity, heat waves, wildfires, and the disturbance of biological systems," the letter states. "The severity of climate change impacts is increasing and is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades," it states.
The letter adds that "adaptation is necessary to address unavoidable consequences for human health and safety, food security, water availability, and national security, among others," and concludes by offering to collaborate with the lawmakers as they "seek to address the challenges of our changing climate."
The urgent statement, which comes in what may end up being the hottest year ever, reiterates the messages from a similar letter (pdf) sent back in 2009 by 18 leading scientific organizations to members of Congress--who continue to fail to take any substantive action on climate change.
"The reality of climate change is already upon us, and is affecting not only our lives but that of all life on earth," stated Dr. Robin L. Chazdon, executive director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, one of the signatory bodies. "We must do all that we can to mitigate these effects using scientific knowledge and mobilizing society for action. It is the responsibility of our politicians to move us forward in these actions."
Added Anne D. Yoder, president of the Society of Systematic Biologists: "We owe it to our children and to our children's children to take bold action now so that our descendants do not pay the price for our generation's greed."
According to a recent tally by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the reminder from the scientists is needed: roughly a third of the lawmakers are climate change deniers.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The nation's top scientific organizations have an important reminder for members of Congress: human caused climate change is real, its impacts are already being felt in the U.S., and only a significant slashing of greenhouse gas emissions will stave off the worst risks.
The 31 groups including the American Meteorological Society, the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)--organizations representing "millions of scientists," according to the Associated Press--issued their statement in a letter (pdf ) to the lawmakers dated Tuesday.
Impacts in the U.S. include "extreme weather events, sea level rise, and increased risk of regional water scarcity, heat waves, wildfires, and the disturbance of biological systems," the letter states. "The severity of climate change impacts is increasing and is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades," it states.
The letter adds that "adaptation is necessary to address unavoidable consequences for human health and safety, food security, water availability, and national security, among others," and concludes by offering to collaborate with the lawmakers as they "seek to address the challenges of our changing climate."
The urgent statement, which comes in what may end up being the hottest year ever, reiterates the messages from a similar letter (pdf) sent back in 2009 by 18 leading scientific organizations to members of Congress--who continue to fail to take any substantive action on climate change.
"The reality of climate change is already upon us, and is affecting not only our lives but that of all life on earth," stated Dr. Robin L. Chazdon, executive director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, one of the signatory bodies. "We must do all that we can to mitigate these effects using scientific knowledge and mobilizing society for action. It is the responsibility of our politicians to move us forward in these actions."
Added Anne D. Yoder, president of the Society of Systematic Biologists: "We owe it to our children and to our children's children to take bold action now so that our descendants do not pay the price for our generation's greed."
According to a recent tally by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the reminder from the scientists is needed: roughly a third of the lawmakers are climate change deniers.
The nation's top scientific organizations have an important reminder for members of Congress: human caused climate change is real, its impacts are already being felt in the U.S., and only a significant slashing of greenhouse gas emissions will stave off the worst risks.
The 31 groups including the American Meteorological Society, the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)--organizations representing "millions of scientists," according to the Associated Press--issued their statement in a letter (pdf ) to the lawmakers dated Tuesday.
Impacts in the U.S. include "extreme weather events, sea level rise, and increased risk of regional water scarcity, heat waves, wildfires, and the disturbance of biological systems," the letter states. "The severity of climate change impacts is increasing and is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades," it states.
The letter adds that "adaptation is necessary to address unavoidable consequences for human health and safety, food security, water availability, and national security, among others," and concludes by offering to collaborate with the lawmakers as they "seek to address the challenges of our changing climate."
The urgent statement, which comes in what may end up being the hottest year ever, reiterates the messages from a similar letter (pdf) sent back in 2009 by 18 leading scientific organizations to members of Congress--who continue to fail to take any substantive action on climate change.
"The reality of climate change is already upon us, and is affecting not only our lives but that of all life on earth," stated Dr. Robin L. Chazdon, executive director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, one of the signatory bodies. "We must do all that we can to mitigate these effects using scientific knowledge and mobilizing society for action. It is the responsibility of our politicians to move us forward in these actions."
Added Anne D. Yoder, president of the Society of Systematic Biologists: "We owe it to our children and to our children's children to take bold action now so that our descendants do not pay the price for our generation's greed."
According to a recent tally by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the reminder from the scientists is needed: roughly a third of the lawmakers are climate change deniers.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.