EPA: Act Now on Climate Change or Pay Later in Money and Deaths
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
06/23/2015The Obama administration linked climate change to human health Tuesday, saying unchecked greenhouse gas pollution could cause 57,000 deaths a year by 2100 from bad air and 12,000 from extreme temperatures — findings Colorado lawmakers addressed at a forum.
“The changing climate that we’re causing is an existential threat,” said Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood.
Commerce City residents living close to industry “will likely have a shorter life span,” said Rep. Dominick Moreno, the Democrat who represents the area.
The lawmakers gathered at a forum at the University of Denver with federal agency leaders as the White House and Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a report that quantifies impacts of climate change, including billions a year in damages from wildfires, rising sea levels and drought.
The EPA is targeting coal-fired power plants, trying to cut U.S. carbon emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels within 15 years. President Obama is negotiating with other nations for reductions before a summit in Paris.
Rising temperatures favor drought, which brings dust, wildfires that release particulates, and increased ozone pollution, EPA regional climate change coordinator Laura Farris said.
“Our concern here is ground-level ozone. … Ozone is exacerbated by oil and gas development, even in rural areas,” Farris said. “We’re concerned about the link between rising temperatures and ground-level ozone.”
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