Gore: extreme weather shows need for climate change action
Gore: extreme weather shows need for climate change action
21 June 2011
published by http://thehill.com
USA — Former Vice President Al Gore is sounding the alarm about climate change and extreme weather, pointing to the recent floods along the Mississippi River, drought in Texas and wildfires in Arizona.
In a keynote address at the Games for Change Festival Monday in New York City, Gore pointed to a slew of extreme weather events in the United States and around the world. He raised concerns about the wildfires in Arizona and drought in Texas, as well as the recent flooding along the Mississippi River.
Today, the biggest fire in the history of the state of Arizona is spreading to New Mexico. Today, the biggest flood in the history of the Mississippi River Valley is under way right now, Gore said.
At what point is there a moment where we say, Oh, we ought to do something about this?
Gore, the chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection, has long called for measures to drastically reduce the countrys greenhouse gas emissions, warning of the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change.
In his address, Gore waded into the politically thorny issue of climate change and extreme weather. While some climate scientists argue that you cant draw conclusions from any one particular weather event, others say climate change is to blame in part for recent extreme weather.
Gore, in a portion of his speech posted by the website Treehugger.com, also pointed to large-scale flooding in Nashville, Tenn., last year.
Thousands of my neighbors lost their homes and businesses, Gore said. They had no flood insurance because there has never been a flood in the areas that were flooded.
He also listed extreme weather events around the world like flooding in Pakistan, Australia and Colombia.
