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Dear Fellow Vermonter,
As you know, Vermont has suffered its worst natural disaster since 1927. The recent floods have damaged 4,000 homes and 800 businesses, as well as roads, bridges, and public infrastructure throughout the state. The cost of repair will run into many hundreds of millions of dollars. Needless to say, the congressional delegation – myself, Senator Welch, and Representative Becca Balint – working with Governor Scott, will do everything possible to make sure that Vermont gets its fair share of federal disaster relief. If you have been impacted by the floods, or know someone who has been affected, please click here and here for more resources, information, and next steps.
As we clean up and rebuild, it’s important to understand that disasters like we’ve experienced, and other types of extreme weather disturbances, are now taking place all over our country and throughout the world. That’s what climate change is doing, and that’s why we have to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
Here’s the scary story of what’s happening right now.
The last eight years have been the eight hottest on record. This year is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history, and this past July was the hottest month in recorded history. July 3rd was the hottest day in recorded history until the record was broken on July 4th, and on July 5th, and on July 6th. Twenty-one of the 30 hottest days on record occurred this past month.
Across the United States, July broke more than 3,200 daily temperature records. Miami experienced its seven hottest days on record. Flagstaff, Arizona, and Brownsville, Texas experienced their eight hottest days on record. Tucson, ten. El Paso and Phoenix, twelve. At least 26 cities broke or tied their previous daily temperature records three or more times. Death Valley experienced the highest midnight temperature ever recorded on Earth. Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock, Baton Rouge, Anaheim, Rapid City, Santa Fe, St. Paul, Corpus Christi, Sioux Falls, Fort Lauderdale, Reno, Helena, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, San Juan, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Worth, Carson City, Portland – all of these cities experienced their highest temperatures on record.
It wasn’t just daily records. Phoenix recently experienced 31 days in a row at or above 110 degrees, 13 days longer than the previous record. El Paso experienced 44 days in a row at or above 100 degrees, 21 days longer than the previous record. Miami experienced a record 46 days at or above 100 degrees. Austin experienced a record 11 days at or above 105 degrees. Waco experienced a record 44 days at or above 100 degrees. Las Vegas experienced its hottest two weeks on record.
And it’s not just the United States. Dozens of locations in China experienced record-high temperatures last month, including the country’s all-time temperature record of 126 degrees. Tokyo reached 95 degrees a record 13 times. Rome, Cannes, Palermo, Tunis, Algiers, Tirana, Figueres – all of these cities across Europe and North Africa experienced their hottest days on record. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador – all saw multiple temperature records broken. Parts of the Middle East exceeded 150 degrees – near the most intense heat that the human body can survive. It’s winter right now in South America, but that hasn’t stopped temperatures from exceeding 100 degrees in some places.
And it’s not just that temperatures have been soaring on land. Our oceans have never been warmer. Right now, 44 percent of the world’s oceans are experiencing a marine heat wave. The Mediterranean Sea is experiencing its hottest temperatures on record, more than 9 degrees hotter than average in some places. Off the coast of Newfoundland, waters are as much as 18 degrees above normal. South of Miami, waters reached 101 degrees. You’re supposed to find temperatures like that in a hot tub, not the ocean.
Climate change will not only impact the physical well-being of humans and our communities, it will also have enormous economic implications. The Deloitte Economics Institute estimates that if left unchecked climate change could cost the global economy $178 trillion over the next 50 years as a result of lower productivity and employment, food and water scarcity, and worsening health and well-being. We’ll also have to spend huge amounts of money repairing the damage. In the United States, as a result of increased flooding and fires, we’re already seeing a major increase in disaster relief funding.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change, save a great deal of money, and make our energy grid more resilient by transitioning away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Here’s something you might not know: Right now, wind and solar energy are the least expensive forms of new energy generation. Period. They’re cheaper than coal and cheaper than natural gas. There’s a reason why a conservative state like Texas has increased its solar capacity by more than 500 percent over the past three years.
Renewable energy also offers incredible opportunities for families to save money. With rooftop solar, for example, you can generate electricity right at home and cut your electricity bills by 80 percent or more. That’s why I passed legislation to make it easier for low- and moderate-income families to install solar on their homes.
I understand that climate change and transitioning away from fossil fuels is a contentious and difficult issue. I also understand that it is not just an American issue, and that China (currently the world’s major carbon emitter) and countries throughout the world will have to come together with us to make the unprecedented cuts in carbon emissions that the health of the planet requires. Whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together.
While the path forward to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future will not be easy, and mistakes will certainly be made, the choice we face is pretty clear. Either we maintain the status quo and continue to see more drought, floods and extreme weather disturbances or we move away from fossil fuels and do our best to make sure that the planet we leave our kids and future generations is healthy and habitable.
Frankly. That’s not much of a choice. That’s our moral responsibility.
Let’s go forward together,
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