EXTREME WEATHER ENDANGERS PUBLIC SAFETY
Millennials in Colorado are experiencing warmer temperatures and more extreme weather conditions than generations before, according to a recent report by the Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center.
Over the last five generations, average temperatures in Colorado have risen nearly two degrees, according to Dangerous Inheritance: The Hotter, More Extreme Climate We’re Passing Down to America’s Young.
“We used to think global warming would happen someday, but someday is now,” said Anna McDevitt, campaign organizer for Environment Colorado, in a press release. “We are already seeing record heat and more extreme weather, and without bold action, the next generation will be left a dangerous inheritance.”
Environment Colorado promotes a dramatic cut in carbon pollution, beginning with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, which requires a 30 percent reduction in power plant emissions by 2030, according to an Environment Colorado press release.
“We need action now to protect our kids’ future,” said Joy Sousa, a mother representing Climate Parents, in a statement. Climate Parents is an organization that mobilizes parents and families to push policy makers and energy businesses to find and utilize kid-safe and climate-safe energy.
But Colorado is not alone. Researchers have found similar weather trends across the country. According to the report, if the United States — and the rest of the world — continues to emit greater levels of carbon pollution, the temperature will rise five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.
“As parents, we want our children to grow up in a world better than ours, but they’re already growing up in a world more dangerous,” Sousa said.
— Devin Blomquist
EPA RESTRICTS USE OF NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES
The Environmental Protection Agency recently restricted the use of neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides suspected to be responsible for causing harm to birds, bees and other animals.
Though the EPA had previously approved the use of neonictinoids, they were led to issue a moratorium on the use of these pesticides after outcry of the damage they may have caused, specifically to bee colonies.
Neonicotinoids are designed to attack the central nervous system of insects that eat crops, but research has shown that because this class of pesticides is highly water soluble, they easily run off plants and into soil and water systems.
In a series of letters to registrants of neonicotinoid pesticides, the EPA stated they will not issue new use permits until data examining the effects on bees have been assessed, nor will they retract existing permits for the use of neonicotinoids.
“EPA has finally admitted it lacks the basic data needed to determine whether bees, other pollinators or the environment will be adversely affected by neonicotinoids,” said Peter T. Jenkins, attorney for the Center for Food Safety in a statement. “If EPA is unable to assess the safety of new uses, the agency similarly is not able to assess the safety of the close to 100 outdoor uses already approved.”
In the EPA’s letter to people and companies that have applied for the use of this pesticide, the agency says it considers the completion of data assessment for neonicotinoids to be a priority.
— Devin Blomquist
