Superstorm Sandy is the latest example of climate change contributing to extreme weather. It underscores the need for the United States and the world to take urgent action to reduce the pollution that is causing climate change and intensifying extreme weather events, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said. The lawmaker pointed to the latest studies on climate change, and the real-world events that have occurred just in the last two years, as all the evidence needed to enact strong limits on the pollution that is destabilizing our climate.
“For this superstorm to occur so late in the storm season, reach such fury, and have the kinds of flooding impacts that we are seeing, is fully consistent with what scientists have told us we should expect due to global warming,” said Rep. Markey, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee. “It’s time to admit the obvious fact that climate change is here. Warmer water in the Atlantic is fueling stronger storms, the seas are higher, and the dramatic changes in the Arctic are potentially altering the path of storms hundreds of miles away. Climate change is no longer some far off issue; it’s at our doorstep. We must consider how to address the underlying factors that are fueling these extreme weather events.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those killed and impacted by this superstorm,” continued Rep. Markey. “The federal government and all United States citizens stand at the ready to help those in need.”
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