Dear Secretary Abruzzo,
During your recent Pennsylvania Senate confirmation hearing, you stated that climate change exists. However, we were concerned when you stated:
"I have not read any scientific studies that would lead me to conclude that there are adverse impacts to human beings or to animals or to plant life at this small level of climate change. But I agree there are impacts."
As the state's chief environmental regulator and leader of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), you are now leading an agency that has legal responsibilities to implement federal and state climate laws.
Because DEP has responsibilities for implementing federal and state climate laws, we urge you to become familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gases. This finding establishes the scientific and factual premise for EPA’s recently promulgated climate regulations under the Clean Air Act. The Endangerment Finding examined hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies and found that current and projected levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threaten the health and welfare of present and future generations.
According to a peer-reviewed paper authored by scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Center for Atmospheric Research, there is an increasing frequency of major weather disaster events, and increasing economic losses from these events. This study examined data from 1980 through 2011 and found that the trend amounts to a 5 percent per year increase in the frequency of billion-dollar disasters. The importance of the study is that it documents real impacts that have already occurred as a result of climate change.
We urge you to study global greenhouse gas (GHG) growth trends, and how Pennsylvania, the nation's third largest emitter, has contributed to emissions that affect climate change which, in turn, imposes costs on Pennsylvanians. As a large emitter, we carry a responsibility to address GHG.
DEP's mission places on you great responsibilities that impact every Pennsylvanian. PennFuture, its members, and supporters encourage you to increase your understanding of climate change science and embark on the development of an urgent yet pragmatic approach to climate change. We would be glad to participate in this effort by arranging a private meeting between you and some of the leading climate scientists in the field. Please let us know if you would like to engage in such a discussion.
We look forward to working together to protect the health and welfare of all Pennsylvanians.
Cindy Adams Dunn
Cindy Adams Dunn is president and CEO of PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg.
