Hartford, CT—As the
presidential candidates debate some of the most important issues facing our
country in the final two weeks before Election Day, Environment Connecticut released
a new report documenting that the average temperature in Hartford in 2007 was 1.1°F above the
historical average. The year 2007 tied
for the second warmest year on record globally and was the 10th warmest
year on record in the United
States.
These record temperatures are part of a trend toward rising temperatures
resulting from global warming.
“Throw out the record books
because global warming is raising temperatures in Connecticut and across the country,” said Environment
Connecticut Program Director Christopher Phelps. “While one or two degrees may not seem like
much, just as any parent with a sick child knows, even a small rise in
temperature can have a big effect,” he continued.
According to NASA, seven of
the eight warmest years on record globally have occurred since 2001. These above-average temperatures led
Environment Connecticut to more closely examine recent temperature trends at
the local level.
“Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising
Temperatures in the United States”
compares government temperature data for the years 2000-2007 with the
historical average, or “normal,” temperature for the preceding 30 years,
1971-2000. Our data were collected at 255
weather stations – those with the highest quality data – in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
Key findings for Connecticut include:
•
In 2007, the
average temperature was 1.1°F above normal in Hartford.
•
Hartford’s above-average temperatures in 2007 are part of a
warming trend. Between 2000 and 2007,
the average temperature was 0.7°F above the historical average. Nationally, the average temperature during
this eight-year period was at least 0.5°F above normal at nearly 90 percent of
the weather stations.
•
Over the course
of 2007, Hartford
experienced 20 days where the temperature hit at least 90°F, which is 2 days more
than the historical average. Extreme
heat can have serious implications for human health, causing heat stroke, heat
exhaustion, and even death.
The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change – the prestigious United Nations body that won a Nobel Prize
last year for its work – has concluded the evidence of global warming is
“unequivocal” and that human activities are responsible for most of the
increase in global average temperatures.
Burning fossil fuels to power cars, homes, and industry produces most U.S.
global warming emissions.
A recent Bush administration
report said “it is very likely” that more people will die in the United States
during extremely hot periods in the future.
In addition, the report identified water shortages from early snowmelt,
degraded air quality, heat waves, drought, extreme rainfall with flooding and sea
level rise as particular risks for the New England
region
Energy issues have featured prominently
in both presidential and vice-presidential debates this election season. “We’re at a crossroads on energy, and it’s up
to the next President to choose a new path that curbs global warming and helps recharge
our struggling economy,” said Phelps.
“It’s clear that our energy
crisis isn’t just hurting us at the pump, but it’s also causing Connecticut’s families
to feel the heat. The good news is that
repowering America
with wind and solar power will curb global warming, and clean, renewable energy
is one of the few bright spots in our troubled economy,” said Phelps.
According to the latest
climate science, the United
States and the world must break its
dependence on fossil fuels and transition rapidly to 100 percent clean,
renewable energy if we hope to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global
warming.
Specifically, the United States
must reduce its global warming emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 and by
80 percent by 2050 and make energy efficiency improvements and the accelerated
development of renewable energy the centerpiece of our environmental and
economic development policies.
Recently, more than 150
members of Congress, including Connecticut Representatives DeLauro, Murphy, and
Courtney, endorsed strong principles for action on energy and global
warming. Environment Connecticut, and its national federation
Environment America, urged that those principles be the blueprint for action
for the next President and Congress.
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