Number
111323
Version
SUBSTITUTE 2
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. KOVAC AND COGGS
Title
Substitute resolution urging the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce the Clean Air Act and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
Analysis
This resolution urges the Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama administration to fully employ and enforce the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon in our atmosphere to no more than 350 parts per million.
Body
Whereas, The decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record, and 2005 and 2010 tied for the hottest years on record; and
Whereas, The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is approximately 392 parts per million (ppm); and
Whereas, One of the world’s leading climate scientists, Dr. James Hansen, stated in 2008: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350ppm”; and
Whereas, According to the Global Humanitarian Forum, climate change is already responsible every year for some 300,000 deaths, 325 million people seriously affected, and economic losses worldwide of $125 billion; and
Whereas, Extreme weather events are striking with increased frequency, with deadly
consequences for people and wildlife; and
Whereas, Climate change is threatening food security as crop growth and yields diminish and droughts, floods and changes in snowpack depth are disrupting water supplies; and
Whereas, Scientists have concluded that by 2100, as many as 1 in 10 species may be on the verge of extinction due to climate change; and
Whereas, The world’s ice is rapidly melting threatening water supplies, raising sea levels, and jeopardizing ice-dependent animals so severely that Arctic summer sea ice is half the area and thickness it was several decades ago; and
Whereas, According to Scientific American, sea level is rising faster along the U.S. East Coast than it has for at least 2,000 years, and is accelerating in pace, threatening coastal wildlife and the 40 percent of the world’s population that lives within 60 miles of the coast; and
Whereas, For four decades, the Clean Air Act has protected the air we breathe through a proven, comprehensive, successful system of pollution control that saves lives and creates economic benefits exceeding its costs by many times; and
Whereas, With the Clean Air Act, air quality in this country has improved significantly since 1970, despite major growth both in our economy and industrial production; and
Whereas, between 1970 and 1990, the six main pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act were reduced by between 47 percent and 93 percent, and airborne lead was virtually eliminated; and
Whereas, The Clean Air Act has produced economic benefits valued at $2 trillion or 30 times the cost of regulation; and
Whereas, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA (2007) that greenhouse gases are air pollutants as defined by the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate them; and
Whereas, The City of Milwaukee recognizes the importance of the fight against climate change and for clean air; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Common Council urges the Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama administration to move swiftly to fully employ and enforce the Clean Air Act to do our part to reduce carbon in our atmosphere to no more than 350 parts per million; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the City Clerk shall send copies of this resolution to President Obama, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa P. Jackson and each member of Wisconsin's U.S. Congressional delegation.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB136671-3
Rich Watt
1/30/2012