Res 0065-2018

By Council Members Levin and Brannan Whereas, 2017 was the hottest year on record, and 2001 to 2010 was the warmest decade on record; and Whereas, Extreme weather events, most notably heat waves and precipitation extremes, are striking with increased frequency, with deadly consequences for people and wildlife; and Whereas, According to a 2009 Global Humanitarian Forum study, climate change already seriously affects 325 million people, and is responsible for 300,000 deaths and $125 billion in economic losses worldwide each year; 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, The world's land-based ice is rapidly melting, threatening water supplies in many regions and raising sea levels; and Whereas, According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, in November 2017 the Arctic summer sea ice extent averaged 3.65 million square miles, the third lowest in the 1979 to 2017 satellite record, and with an accompanying drastic reduction in sea ice thickness and volume, is severely jeopardizing ice-dependent animals; and Whereas, Scientists have concluded that by the year 2100 as many as one in ten species may be on the verge of extinction due to climate change; and Whereas, Sea level is rising along the East Coast of the United States faster than it has risen for the least 2,000 years, is accelerating in pace, and could rise by one to two meters 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 controls 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 in our economy, population, motor vehicle travel, 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 dioxide, and nitrogen oxides (the pollutants that cause acid rain)-were reduced by between 47% and 93%, and airborne lead was virtually eliminated; and Whereas, The Clean Air Act has produced economic benefits valued at $2 trillion, or over 30 times the $60 billion in cost of regulations; and Whereas, The United States Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) that greenhouse gases are "air pollutants" as defined by the Clean Air Act and that, therefore, the Environmental Protection Agency has authority to regulate them; and Whereas, Using authorities embodied in Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency can develop regulations to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from new and existing power plants; and Whereas, The City of New York prides itself on being a leader in the fight against climate change and for clean air; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Environmental Protection Agency and President Trump to fully enforce the Clean Air Act by regulating greenhouse gases in order to avert the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change. DAA/NPJ LS 1650-2013/Res 14-2014 LS 772 1/3/18 3:43PM