Statement by Larry Schweiger On Release of IPCC N. America Report
“It’s not just global warming, it’s local warming”
Statement by Larry Schweiger National Wildlife Federation President On Release of IPCC North America Detailed Impacts
Washington, DC (April 16) – “The world’s preeminent scientists are telling us with unmistakable clarity that it’s not just global warming, it’s local warming. It’s happening where we live.
“Virtually no area of North America will escape the effects of global warming. From the Pacific Northwest to the Rocky Mountains, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, to the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, global warming is changing ecosystems and impacting wildlife.
“The cascade of evidence should overcome any question that we must act now to reduce global warming pollution.
“Global warming’s potential to harm local wildlife is one of the report’s central findings. Temperature increases of just a few degrees may propel up to 40 percent of all species globally toward extinction. The higher temperatures rise, the more species will be condemned to extinction.
“The report’s message is water, water, water – more drought in the West, more flooding in the East and higher sea levels along all our coasts.
“America must choose between a fundamentally different planet or a fundamentally different energy future that breaks our oil addiction and aggressively opens the path to clean, safe alternative and renewable sources of fuel.
“Global warming is an urgent threat to not only animals and plants, but to people.
“We share a moral responsibility to do everything we can to reduce global warming pollution.”
“We can avoid the worst effects of global warming by consistently reducing global warming pollution by just 2 percent each year, 20 percent a decade. America can do this if we set our mind to it.
The National Wildlife Federation inspires Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 16, 2007 CONTACT: Aileo Weinmann – 202-797- 6801; Christine Dorsey 802 229-0650 ext. 334
