[csusbpeace] Biden Visits Storm-Ravaged California, Says It's Climate Change In Action
- From: "raccoon" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ("bigraccoon1")
- To: "CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2023 16:11:30 -0800
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-california-storms_n_63c99e2de4b01e9288624bcd
Biden Visits Storm-Ravaged California, Says It's Climate Change In Action
“If anybody doubts the climate is changing, they must have been asleep for
the last couple of years,” the president said.
Jan 19, 2023
President Joe Biden <https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/joe-biden> arrived
in California’s Central Coast on Thursday to meet with some of the
communities hammered by weeks of torrential rainfall, some of the most
intense in the state’s history.
Biden said that the catastrophe is a clear display of climate change in
action and shows how severe weather can get in a hotter atmosphere.
“If anybody doubts the climate is changing, they must have been asleep for
the last couple of years,” the president said Thursday from Aptos’ Seacliff
State Beach
<https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/devastated-by-storms-seacliff-state-beach-faces-months-and-millions-in-rehab-expenses/ar-AA16wsOs>,
where recent storms have plummeted half of a pier into the ocean, destroyed
the seawall and caused about $30 million in damage.
Damage from the storms has been recorded in 41 of the state’s 58 counties,
with nine atmospheric rivers
<https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-atmospheric-rivers> since late
December collapsing hillsides, downing massive trees, breaking levees,
washing away roads, knocking out power, forcing evacuations and flooding
residences.
“Extreme weather caused by climate change means stronger and more frequent
storms, more intense droughts, longer wildfire seasons ― all of which
threaten communities across California,” Biden said. “So we have to invest in
a stronger infrastructure to lessen the impact of these disasters because
they become cumulative, in a sense.”
A pier that collapsed in the storm is visible behind Biden as he speaks in
Aptos, California, on Jan. 19, 2023. He called the severe weather that
impacted the state climate change in action.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images
Thousands of homes may be tagged as uninhabitable
<https://apnews.com/article/biden-weather-us-news-california-climate-and-environment-b3769eb9a0643a6c2c291c4c9fd777b5>,
an official told The Associated Press this week. As of Thursday, the storms
have claimed 21 lives, and 5,000 people are still without power.
Though the state had a reprieve from the heavy downpours in recent days,
light rainfall in the forecast is still a serious threat on such saturated
land.
Coastal communities, like the ones Biden visited today, are among those hit
the hardest. Some roads there may take weeks to clear and months to repair
fully. In Santa Cruz County, where Biden delivered his remarks Thursday,
roads have been washed into the ocean, and residents say the waves crashing
ashore are some of the biggest they’ve ever seen
<https://www.ktvu.com/news/scenic-west-cliff-drive-buckles-biden-to-visit-storm-damaged-santa-cruz-coastline>.
The cost of damage in that county alone is currently estimated at around $55
million
<https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2023/01/19/president-biden-flying-into-mountain-view-to-visit-storm-ravaged-capitola-aptos-thursday-afternoon#:~:text=Santa%20Cruz%20County%20has%20estimated,president%20in%20the%20affected%20areas.>.
The federal government has promised to cover 100% of the cost of removing
debris and other emergency costs, such as sheltering people and paying first
responders for overtime work, for the next 60 days, Biden reminded the crowd
in Aptos on Thursday.
Farmers and ranchers who saw crops and livestock washed away by the storms
are also eligible for low-interest loans and grants to rebuild, Biden said.
Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who spoke before the president,
said they’re maintaining hope that search and rescue teams can find and save
5-year-old Kyle Doan
<https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/drones-fly-over-salinas-river-near-san-miguel-in-search-for-5-year-old-kyle-doan>,
who was swept away by floodwaters in San Miguel while heading to school with
his mother 10 days ago.
Following Biden’s remarks, environmental activists said they want bigger
climate commitments from his administration.
“How many more lives must be lost? How many more decimated homes must
President Biden and Governor Newsom visit? We are living in a climate
emergency, and our elected leaders must take action to protect our
communities,” Caroline Henderson, Greenpeace’s senior climate campaigner,
said in a statement Thursday, adding: “Last year, President Biden said that
he would deal with the climate emergency, but we have seen very little
action. It’s time for him to make good on those words by declaring a climate
emergency.”
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