Summer Extreme Weather is Intensifying Due to Climate Change and Climate Deniers
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This week North Carolina is slated to be on the receiving end of punishing high temperatures into the 90s. Communities across the country are feeling the effects of extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes. According to NOAA, as of May 2024, there have been eleven billion dollar weather events in the United States so far in 2024. NOAA also issued the highest-ever May forecast for the coming hurricane season, and NOAA’s latest projections gave 2024 a 61% chance of beating 2023 as the warmest year on record.
These are not isolated events. The science is clear: Climate change is fueling extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes. It’s equally clear that state and federal policies, and elected officials making these policies, play a huge role in the impact of extreme weather.
Impact of extreme weather in North Carolina:
- Home insurance rates are rising, especially for people in coastal regions prone to flooding. Homeowners on our coast have faced rising insurance prices or even nonrenewal of their policies as the frequency of storms and flooding increases due to climate change.
- Extreme weather is costing North Carolina billions. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, in the last decade, extreme weather has cost North Carolina over $664 Billion.
- Extreme heat and polluted air have devastating effects on the health of North Carolinians. About 4,000 heat-related illness emergency room visits happen in North Carolina during high heat season (May – September), and air pollutants like wildfire smoke can exacerbate conditions for people who are pregnant, older adults, and people with heart conditions or asthma.
Since taking office, President Biden has taken concrete action to mitigate extreme weather and build climate resiliency in communities across the country. The Biden Administration’s clean energy plan has driven billions of dollars invested in clean energy production, affordable clean energy for small businesses and individuals, mitigation against climate impacts, and community climate resilience.
In stark contrast, Trump’s presidency made the nation more vulnerable to extreme weather events as he repeatedly revoked pro-climate policies, stifled climate science, mocked extreme weather disasters, and allowed the oil and gas industry to pollute our air with toxic greenhouse gasses that drive climate change.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Big Oil and Gas CEO allies aren’t meeting their promises to tackle climate change with actual investments. Instead, they are proactively backing away from them. In the past year and a half:
- BP announced less ambitious targets for emission cuts.
- Shell said it wouldn’t increase spending on renewable energy last year, saying their investor returns are more important.
- Exxon announced its “retreat” from one of its largest climate solutions, making biofuels from algae.
Trump and Big Oil and Gas CEOs have falsely blamed renewable energy sources for blackouts and grid failures during extreme storms, all while raking in profits as thousands of people suffer. This focus on profits over people will continue if Trump is elected in 2024, with Big Oil already writing orders and Trump promising to gut President Biden’s climate action.
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