Families in the New York/New Jersey area are still suffering from the impact of superstorm Sandy. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed, and many are still fighting to stay warm without power.
Since Sandy, my office has received calls and emails from New England residents concerned about global warming and the risk of a Sandy type storm hitting our region. The Boston Globe had this editorial addressing the issue today.
On Sunday, November 25th at 11 AM, I will join with climate scientists and advocates in a climate change Town Hall at historic Faneuil Hall to show the catastrophic costs that unchecked global warming would wreak on Boston, New England and the world.
We will also discuss the solutions needed to avert the worst effects of climate change. The event is jointly sponsored by the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
As I discussed in a recent Huffington Post piece, Sandy proved these are no longer the scenarios of disaster movies, but the current reality of the world’s weather supercharged by climate change. Sea-level rise and stronger storms will only add to the threat.
FACEBOOK INVITE
http://www.facebook.com/events/306711562764297/
WHAT: What If Sandy Happened Here?: Climate Change Town Hall at Faneuil Hall
WHO: – Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), dean of the Massachusetts Congressional
delegation
– Dr. Paul Kirshen, Tufts University Visiting Scientist and Research Professor, UNH Civil Engineering Dept. & Institute for the study of Earth, Oceans & Space
– Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists
– Mindy Lubber, President and CEO of Ceres
– George Bachrach, President of the Environmental League of Boston
WHEN: Sunday, November 25, 2012, 11 AM
WHERE: Historic Faneuil Hall, Boston, Mass.
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For more information, please visit:
I’ll try to make it!
We ran into noted BMGer Gmoke, and Jamie Eldridge was also in attendance, though I didn’t get a chance to say hello to him. I have video from the event, it’s converting now and I’ll upload it to YouTube later.
It was a great event – I wanted to ask a question, but I didn’t get a chance, so here it is now: can we pass legislation mandating that all governmental entities purchase zero carbon energy? Such an act would spur massive investment in wind, solar, and geo-thermal to satisfy that scale of demand. Congressman Markey, if you’re following up here, please let us know your thoughts.
We also need a bill that ends coal use by creating a tax on carbon that dedicates revenue to job retraining, health care, and pensions for coal miners, as well as redevelopment fund for affected communities. To be truly effective, such a bill should also call for a carbon tariff to be levied against countries that refuse to take similar action.