By Alexandra Bower

An elk takes shelter from the blistering heat in the shade at Yellowstone National Park
An elk takes shelter from the blistering heat in the shade at Yellowstone National Park. Credit: shandysnaps/Flickr

With over 7 billion people living on this earth, it’s little wonder we would have a negative effect on our environment. Climate change is one of these negative effects that we have exacerbated by emitting high levels of carbon into the atmosphere daily, through deforestation and by altering our land-uses. In recent years, the damaging consequences of climate change have become increasingly apparent and unavoidable. Climate change has played a  part in extreme weather by triggering rising sea levels and overheating the ocean temperatures, making our communities vulnerable to the powerful storms that inevitably hit our coasts. This impact of climate change has been costly: Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest and priciest storms to date, taking almost 2,000 lives and causing over $100 billion in damages, and Hurricane Sandy caused similar damage along the Northeast. Climate change doesn’t just contribute to storms — droughts in other regions caused ravaging wildfires to destroy national forests and resources, homes and lives.

So, what can you do to help? Well, in response to these disasters, Senators Whitehouse and Baucus introduced the Safeguarding America’s Future and Environment, or the SAFE Act (S. 1202) in 2013 to respond to “ongoing and expected impacts of extreme weather and climate change by protecting, restoring and conserving the natural resources of the United States.” On February 25, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Oversight Subcommittee met to discuss ways to protect and preserve the nation’s lands and wildlife from climate change and hear testimonies of representatives from conservation nonprofit and activist organizations, government agencies, the White House and various scientific institutions.

Noah Matson, vice president for climate adaption at Defenders of Wildlife, testified, specifically highlighting the impacts of climate change on species, including changes in ocean circulation patterns, longer droughts and disruptions to the timing and patterns of seasonal cycles and migrations. He was adamant about resources needing to be reallocated for fish and wildlife protection, vigorous policy needing to be undertaken for mitigation and adaption efforts and the need for proper funding for the most important and sensitive regions and programs affected by a changing climate. He supported the SAFE Act because of its policies that prevent us from being “blindsided” by climate change in the future.

Christopher Brown, President of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association also testified, stating that the SAFE Act provides a “new set of eyes on the problem and another tool in the tool box” and could be the transition to ecosystem based management for fish and wildlife.

The SAFE Act protects our environment, resources and lives from the threat of storms intensifying due to the ongoing threat of climate change, while maximizing government efficiency and reducing excessive spending.

American Forests supports Whitehouse and Baucus’s efforts to pass the SAFE Act, and in the process, combat climate change and its effects on our citizens, communities and forests.  Please send a letter to your senators urging them to support the SAFE Act, too.