Hurricane Harvey, and other extreme weather events around the globe, are made worse by climate change.
Yet the media continues to largely ignore climate change impacts. This storm is a warning for us all, and an opportunity to have a public discussion about the root causes of these escalating weather events and their complex impacts on vulnerable communities.
Writing a letter to the editor is a simple and powerful way for you to take action and spark this critical public discussion. Just put in your address on the right and it will share different media outlets with you. Select one or more and you’ll be able to enter in your letter to the editor. You can write your own from the talking points below or just use the sample provided, but personalizing it always helps.
NOTE: Your local newspaper may not be included in the tool, in which case we recommend going to their website to get the submission address and requirements.
Climate Change and Hurricane Harvey:
- Hurricane Harvey is still ravaging Texas and Louisiana, and communities need our help – both with recovery and to prevent this devastation from happening again. Climate change is making extreme weather like hurricanes more frequent and more severe, and we must stop the fossil fuel industry’s expansion and cut carbon pollution to keep it from getting worse.
- Climate change is causing sea-level rise, which worsens storm surges; increasing air temperatures that lead to more rainfall; and boosting water temperatures – all of which make storms more severe. The Gulf of Mexico is currently up to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average, which allowed Harvey to jump to a Category 4 hurricane just hours before making landfall - an unprecedented event in decades of record keeping.
- The flooding is expected to get worse, more people are in need of shelter and services, damaged oil refineries are spewing toxic fumes into communities, and public health is at risk.
The Trump Administration and Hurricane Harvey:
- Hurricane Harvey is an unnatural disaster fueled by fossil fuel industry billionaires and their climate denial.
- President Trump’s refusal to acknowledge climate change in the face of the growing disaster that is Hurricane Harvey, much less address any other systemic injustices, is pure negligence and will do nothing to prevent storms like these from happening again.
- The Administration has prioritized fossil fuel projects, slashed environmental reviews, and rolled back critical climate protections.
- Just a week before the storm made landfall, Trump signed an executive order rolling back safety standards for flood protection.
- With over six million people affected by Hurricane Harvey so far, the recovery process will be long and arduous.
- The people hit the hardest, and who face the toughest recovery, are most often poor, people of color, or otherwise vulnerable communities.
- While Trump assures swift rebuilding, we know his misguided policies will only worsen climate disasters like Harvey, and leave communities vulnerable to the devastating consequences.
- Now is the time, more than ever, for our public officials to stand up to this administration’s climate denial and demand long-term climate action.
- That’s the only way to build a world where families can live free from the fear of climate chaos.
- Climate change is a choice, one that Trump and the fossil fuel industry are making over and over again. It’s up to us to change that.
- Use the talking points - but don't be afraid to speak from your heart
- The most persuasive arguments about climate change include examples from your local community and personal experience.
- Remember to keep it short and to the point!
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey is an unnatural disaster. Climate change, caused by fossil fuels, raised the sea level contributing to Harvey’s intense rainfall.
Over 6 million people have been affected. The flood waters continue to rise. More people are in need of shelter and services, damaged oil refineries are spewing toxic fumes into communities, and public health is at risk.
A part of supporting impacted people means getting serious about why storms like Harvey, Sandy, and Katrina, and other weather extremes continue to happen with increasing intensity. The connection between climate change and Harvey’s impact is irrefutable. July 2017 was the hottest month ever measured on earth, raising the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico, and making Harvey wetter and stronger.
Denying climate change puts people in harm’s way. Unless we take steps to keep fossil fuels in the ground and plan for a changing world, more people will lose their homes or their lives.
This is why it is imperative that our elected officials stand up against climate denial and demand that the Administration and Congress commit to long term climate action. This is the to build a world that where families can live free from the fear of climate chaos.