HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2012-58COUNTY COUNCIL COUNTY OF KAUAI 1&eotutton No. 2012 -58 RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT 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 CO 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 CO will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm; and WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that current and future greenhouse gas concentrations endanger public health, and 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(USD); and WHEREAS, extreme weather events, most notably heat waves and precipitation extremes, are striking with increased frequency, with deadly consequences for people and wildlife; in the United States in 2011 alone, a record 14 weather and climate disasters occurred, including droughts, heat waves, and floods,that cost at least $1 billion(USD) each in damages and loss of human lives; and WHEREAS, climate change is affecting food security by negatively impacting the growth and yields of important crops, and droughts, floods and changes in snowpack are altering water supplies; and WHEREAS, scientists have concluded that by the year 2100 as many as one in 10 species may be on the verge of extinction due to climate change; and
WHEREAS, the world's land -based ice is rapidly melting, threatening water supplies in many regions and raising sea levels, and Arctic summer sea ice extent has decreased to about half what it was several decades ago, with an accompanying drastic reduction in sea -ice thickness and volume, which is severely jeopardizing ice - dependent animals; and WHEREAS, sea level is rising faster along the U.S. East Coast than it has for at least 2,000 years, is accelerating in pace, and could rise by one to two meters in this century, threatening millions of Americans with severe flooding; 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 — particulate matter and ground -level ozone (both of which contribute to smog and asthma), carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur and nitrogen oxides (the pollutants that cause acid rain) — 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 (USD) or 30 times the cost of regulation; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. 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; now therefore BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI,STATE OF HAWAII, that climate change is not an abstract problem for the future or one that will only affect far - distant places but rather climate change is happening now, we are causing it, and the longer we wait to act, the more we lose and the more difficult the problem will be to solve; and we, the Kaua`i County Council, on behalf of the residents of Kaua`i, do hereby urge the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa P. Jackson, and President Barack Obama 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 (ppm).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to President Barack Obama and Lisa P. Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency.INTRODUCED BY:V: \Resolutions \2010 -2012 term \Clean Air Act /- KipuKai Kualii- GG_lc.doc)1 4411 col=tg KIPUKAI KUALI`I eera4Lcate Of dao e tLt aeaa to ti,om. Ota, 2012 -58 a.ac .teL,e _ .tee 4 t QI a ti, 5traie, 4 ti November 14, 2012 eea 1Zarea 11/15/12 Q X 6—X J 7..X X J7.a,P,.u,u,.X a X G X aatof 6 1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to President Barack Obama and Lisa P. Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency.INTRODUCED BY:V: \Resolutions \2010 -2012 term \Clean Air Act /- KipuKai Kualii- GG_lc.doc)1 4411 col=tg KIPUKAI KUALI`I eera4Lcate Of dao e tLt aeaa to ti,om. Ota, 2012 -58 a.ac .teL,e _ .tee 4 t QI a ti, 5traie, 4 ti November 14, 2012 eea 1Zarea 11/15/12