PA temperatures on the rise
Temperatures were above average in cities across Pennsylvania in 2006, according to “Feeling the Heat,” a recent report by PennEnvironment. Given that unchecked global warming could result in everything from more heat-related deaths to more severe flooding, the report should raise alarm bells for citizens and decision-makers.
“Pennsylvania will continue to
feel the heat as global warming raises temperatures throughout the state and
across the country,” said Nathan Willcox, Energy & Clean Air Advocate for
PennEnvironment. “The long-term forecast is for more of the same unless we
quickly and significantly reduce global warming pollution from power plants and
passenger vehicles.”
Specifically, the report found temperatures ranging from 1.6 to 3.1 degrees Fahrenheit above average in all of Pennsylvania’s metropolitan areas, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Harrisburg. See more details in the full report.
PennEnvironment was joined in releasing it's
"Feeling the Heat" report by Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., Pittsburgh City Councilman
Bill Peduto, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Clean Air Council, Citizens
for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter and
Bishop Charles Bennison, Jr., head of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.
Sen. Casey announced his support last week for the Global Warming Pollution
Reduction Act, the most aggressive legislation being debated in the U.S. Senate
to deal with the global warming issue.
“We must take action now to
slow, stop and reverse our greenhouse gas emissions or the problem will become
more severe and the solution more drastic,” said Sen. Casey. “I strongly
believe that we have a moral duty to preserve the environment not just so we can
have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, but because this world is in
our care for our children and our children’s children.”
In order to address global warming, PennEnvironment is calling on Gov. Ed Rendell to create a plan with strong, science-based pollution reduction targets, and urging the state’s federal delegation to support the Safe Climate Act in Congress.
