Infrastructure Fix Should Face Changing Climate

Climate change tied to nation's infrastructure needs

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), February 22, 2017 (The Hill)

“…[T]he combination of extreme weather and crumbling infrastructure…[at Northern California’s Oroville Dam] threatened numerous communities…[The crisis was averted but scientists are documenting a rise in extreme weather events] in response to a warming climate, and Congress has failed to make needed investments in our infrastructure for decades…[There were only three with losses exceeding $1 billion in 1980 but, in] 2016, there were 15 climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion…If we continue with business as usual, roughly 13 million Americans could become climate refugees by the end of the century…[M]ore than 90 percent of published climate scientists believe human activity is the primary cause…[C]arbon pollution is causing the climate to change 170 times faster than natural forces... Yet President Trump and Republicans in Congress continue to ignore the problem and push an extreme agenda that tips the scales on behalf of the fossil fuel industry and special interests…[If] the Trump administration is serious about a bipartisan infrastructure package, they and Congressional leaders must be willing to invest real money and admit that our changing climate is one of the most serious challenges we face…” click here for more

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