As the presidential candidates prepare to discuss some of the most important issues facing our country at their final debate tonight, Environment Rhode Island released a new report documenting that the average temperature in Providence in 2007 was 1.2 °F above the historical average. The year 2007 tied for the second warmest year on record globally and was the 10th warmest year on record in the United States. These record temperatures are part of a trend toward rising temperatures resulting from global warming.
“The evidence of global warming continues to build up around us. Temperatures are rising in Rhode Island and across the country,” said Rob Sargent, for Environment Rhode Island. “While one or two degrees may not seem like much, any parent with a sick child knows that even a small rise in temperature can have a big effect,” he continued.
According to NASA, seven of the world’s eight warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. These above-average temperatures led Environment Rhode Island to examine temperature trends at the local level more closely.
“Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatures in the United States” compares government temperature data for the years 2000-2007 with the historical average, or “normal,” temperature for the preceding 30 years, 1971-2000. Our data were collected at 255 weather stations – those with the highest quality data – in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
Key findings for Rhode Island include:
• In 2007, the average temperature in Providence was 1.2°F above normal. Providence’s above-average temperatures in 2007 are part of a warming trend.
• Between 2000 and 2007, the average temperature was .9°F above the historical average in Providence. Nationally, the average temperature during this eight-year period was at least 0.5°Fabove normal at nearly 90 percent of the weather stations.
• In 2007, the average high temperature in Providence was 1 ° above normal
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the prestigious United Nations body that won a Nobel Prize last year for its work – has concluded the evidence of global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activities are responsible for most of the increase in global average temperatures. Burning fossil fuels to power cars, homes, and industry produces most U.S. global warming emissions.
A recent Bush administration report said “it is very likely” that more people will die in the United States during extremely hot periods in the future. In addition, the report identified water shortages from early snowmelt, degraded air quality, heat waves, drought, extreme rainfall with flooding, and sea level rise as particular risks for the New England.
“It’s clear that our energy crisis isn’t just hurting us at the pump, but it’s also causing Rhode Islanders to feel the heat. The good news is that repowering America with wind and solar power will curb global warming, and clean, renewable energy is one of the few bright spots in our troubled economy,” said Sargent.
According to the latest climate science, the United States must reduce its global warming emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050 and make energy efficiency improvements and the accelerated development of renewable energy the centerpiece of our environmental and economic development policies.
Recently, more than 150 members of Congress, including Representatives Jim Langevin and Patrick Kennedy, endorsed strong principles for action on energy and global warming. Environment America urged that those principles be the blueprint for action for the next President and Congress.
Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse are both supporters of a strong federal action on global warming. Last year, Senator Whitehouse, as a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, helped strengthen a key global warming bill in the U.S. Senate; which was ultimately killed by the Republican Leadership aided by veto threat from President Bush.
At the same time, Rhode Island state officials have taken action by adopting policies to reduce greenhouse gases from cars and power plants and enacting strong policies promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“States have led the charge on global warming solutions and have begun to create the momentum that is spilling into the halls of Congress,” said Sargent. “We commend Rhode Island elected officials for their leadership on this critical issue”
Energy issues have featured prominently in both presidential and vice-presidential debates this election season. “We’re at a crossroads on energy, and it’s up to the next President to follow the lead of states like Rhode Island and choose a new path that curbs global warming and helps recharge our struggling economy,” said Sargent.
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Environment Rhode Islandis a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization.
