Charlottesville, Va Joins Growing Call for National Climate Action

Charlottesville, Va., has become the 71st U.S. community to call on President Barack Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency to make full use of the Clean Air Act to cut the greenhouse gas pollution that's drastically changing the climate. By unanimously passing a resolution on Monday, Charlottesville has joined cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles as part of the Center for Biological Diversity's national Clean Air Cities campaign.

"We are proud to support the use of the Clean Air Act to fight carbon pollution," said Dave Norris, a councilmember and former mayor who introduced the resolution. "Our city has already adopted the Mayor's Climate Agreement and begun local climate action planning. If we work quickly to cut greenhouse gas emissions and embrace clean energy at all levels, Charlottesville and communities across the United States can still avoid climate change's biggest threats."

"I have two children, and I really have concerns about our failure to address the issue of climate change and how that could take away from them the Earth as I've been privileged to know it," said local climate advocate Peggy Gilges.

With 32 heat records broken, 2012 was the third-hottest year ever recorded for Virginia. Rising temperatures bring the threat of additional heat-related illness and deaths, increased air pollution and drought. Just last month coastal Virginia mayors and other local elected officials gathered in Williamsburg to call for increased state action on climate in light of serious local impacts, including flooding and sea-level rise.

The Center's Clean Air Cities campaign is working around the country to encourage cities to pass resolutions supporting the Clean Air Act and using the Act to reduce carbon in our atmosphere to no more than 350 parts per million, the level scientists say we must reach in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Similar resolutions have been approved in 70 other U.S. communities: Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Red Hook and Yonkers, N.Y.; Bloomfield and Hartford, Conn.; Albany, Berkeley, Santa Monica, Arcata, Oxnard, Santa Cruz, Richmond, Culver City, San Francisco, San Leandro, Fairfax, West Hollywood, Oakland and Los Angeles, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Nashville, Tenn.; Kauai, Hawaii; New Hope Borough, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pa.; Tucson, Ariz.; Boone, N.C.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Milwaukee and Madison, Wis.; Newton, Cambridge, Amherst, Newburyport, Northampton and Concord, Mass.; Cincinnati and Oberlin, Ohio; Keene, N.H.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Kansas City, Mo.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Miami, South Miami, Pinecrest, Tampa, Hallandale Beach, Gulfport, Broward County, Monroe County, St. Petersburg, Key West and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Chicago, Ill.; Teton County, Wyo.; Eugene, Ore.; Boulder, Colo.; Burlington, Vt.; Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich.; Wilmington, Del.; Providence, R.I.; Gary, Ind.; Woodbridge, N.J.; Portland, Maine; Baltimore, Md.; Arlington County, Va.; and Washington, D.C. Several other cities around the country will be considering resolutions over the next few months.

Learn more about the Clean Air Act and the Center's Clean Air Cities campaign and Climate Law Institute.