For Immediate Release:
August 3, 2009 |
Contact: Matt Vander Sluis
707-628-3324 |
Planning and Conservation League says California Climate Adaptation Strategy “shows need to invest in action”
Sacramento, CA – Planning and Conservation League (PCL) Global Warming Program Manager Matt Vander Sluis, issued the following statement today regarding the release of the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy Discussion Draft Report:
“We’re very pleased that California is once again taking the lead in the fight against global warming with the release of this draft strategy. This report makes it clear that global warming is costing Californians dearly:
- Over the past 15 years, heat waves have claimed more lives in the state than all other declared disaster events combined. (p. 35)
- Sea-level rise will put 480,000 people at risk and nearly $100 billion in property (p. 64)
- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spent over $500 million on fire suppression during fiscal year 2007/08. Wildfire occurrence statewide could increase by as much as 37-49 percent by 2085 (p. 108)
The report shows that we must both dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to the growing effects of global warming on our economy, public health, and environment.
The report also demonstrates the need to invest considerably more in addressing the effects of global warming. Our federal and state climate policies must make large investments in safeguarding natural resources and communities from the effects of global warming. Without new funding, we’ll be caught unable to respond effectively to rising sea levels, deadly heat waves, and shrinking snowpack; we’ll be trying to put out a fire without a fire hose.
If you really care about something, it’s in your budget. It's time to put climate adaptation in the budget.
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The Planning and Conservation League (PCL) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit lobbying organization, working in the State Legislature and at the administrative level in state government to enact and implement policies to protect and restore the California environment.
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