OK, So It’s Hot:
Feel the Heat and Demand Action
Bernie Sanders / US Senate
VERMONT (June 19, 2024) — Please look around.
As you read this, significant parts of the country are in the midst of the longest heat wave they’ve seen in decades, according to the National Weather Service.
More than 250 million Americans will experience temperatures above 90 degrees this week. Estimates are that heat records for this time of year could be set in more than 200 cities. Public schools are closing due to high temperatures in some areas and many communities are opening cooling centers for the homeless.
As temperatures get as high as they are predicted to this week, the body loses the ability to cool itself, breathing rates increase, and dehydration becomes a critical issue. People with pre-existing health problems like heart disease are at extreme risk. In 2023, more people died of heat than at any point in the last 30 years. This year is already hotter.
And in the midst of all that, understand that it is not yet even officially summer. Meaning, there is a strong chance that everything we are seeing this week could become much worse in the weeks and months to come.
OK, so it’s hot. But how do we know this heat is so unusual? Couldn’t this just be part of a natural cycle going back millions of years? Is there really a link between extreme heat and human activity?
Scientists say that over the past 100 years, we’ve warmed the planet 10 times more quickly than anything we see in the natural record. These are changes that historically have taken over 1,000 years to take place.
And unless we get our act together, over the next 100 years we’re on track to warm the planet 20 times faster than anything we see in the natural record.
Bottom line: Our planet is warming up much more rapidly than in the past and entering into a very dangerous period for human well-being. That is why many scientists refer to climate change as an “existential threat” to human civilization. In other words, the entire planet is in danger.
How does all of this relate to the 2024 presidential election?
If Donald Trump wins this November, the fight against climate change and our ability to protect the very health and habitability of our planet for future generations is over.
Done. Finished. And that is not an exaggeration.
Donald Trump believes climate change is a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese.
Donald Trump has told oil company executives that if they donate $1 billion to his re-election campaign, he will overturn much of the progress made on this issue by the Biden Administration — and that it would be a bargain for them if they did.
If Donald Trump is elected, our kids and grandchildren are going to continue to see rising global temperatures that will lead to shorter lifespans and worse mental health; increased instances of food and waterborne diseases; increased drought and exposure to wildfires that will mean more heart and lung diseases; increased flooding during extreme weather events that will cause massive damage and make it harder for healthcare services to get to those who need them.
Increased climate change will lead to more and more parts of the world becoming unable to sustain human life. That will result in an increase in mass migrations, social unrest, and war.
Let me be very clear. Yes. I have my differences with the Biden Administration on a great number of issues, and I suspect many of you do as well. But, on this issue, of such enormous consequence, the choice is clear. Biden supported the largest increase in funding in American history to transform our energy systems away from fossil fuel. Trump will be a tool of the oil industry.
Those are some of the very real stakes in this election.
If the U.S., the second largest carbon emitter in the world, surrenders to the oil industry, why would China or any other country in the world not do the same?
So yes, we must defeat Donald Trump.
Yes, we must protect and expand the advances made by the Biden Administration during his first term.
But we also must do more. We must elect progressives everywhere who understand the very real risks of a changing climate and are committed to doing everything they can to transform our energy systems to save the planet.
That is going to be something I am working on between now and November, and I can use your help to support my travel and other work to elect progressives this fall.
