Bill Forte from North Sky Communications works on a fiber optic line during a heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest in Lake Forest Park, Washington, U.S., June 26, 2021.
Karen Ducey | Reuters
With extreme heat waves and climate-related disasters becoming more frequent across the U.S., some politicians have gotten more urgent of their call for motion.
“The climate change bomb has gone off. … The earth is screaming at us,” Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
“There’s excellent news,” he added, noting that “it is a solvable problem. But we want to stop using fossil fuels. That’s the only solution to this massive assault on humanity.”
The governor underscored each short-term measures and longer-timeline initiatives to scale back fossil fuel usage. Washington state is switching to electric-powered ferries and stopping the sale of internal combustion cars after 2035, said Inslee. He noted “tremendous motion” has been taken because of this of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Palm Springs Mayor Grace Elena Garner, who also spoke on “This Week,” highlighted the necessity for further resources from the federal government.
“Within the short term, I might like to see us put more funding towards electric vehicles, towards walking and biking paths for more shade. And we’re doing that in Palm Springs. … Those are really quick short-term solutions,” said Garner.
She emphasized more funds for housing development are needed to make sure residents do not have to live outside in worsening environmental conditions.
“We do not manage to pay for to construct housing as rapidly as we want to. And there is lots of roadblocks even once we do have the funds. So anything that we will do to be sure that folks are having protected places to live is of important importance,” Garner said.
The U.S. must lead the climate fight “not only from an ethical standpoint, but from [its] self-interest standpoint,” Inslee said. He noted the potential for brand spanking new jobs and economic revitalization, corresponding to battery firms coming into the Midwest and pivoting the “Rust Belt” into the “Silicon Belt.”
“This thing is now the age of consequences. The bomb has gone off, but we do have the flexibility to restrain fossil fuels. If we make the commitments we want,” said Inslee.
