U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley says every delay on addressing climate change worsens the crisis.
Referring to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s peak carbon dioxide reading of 417 parts per million in 2020, Merkley told KLCC in a recent press call that global warming affects everyone, including Oregonians.
"It's fiercer forest fires, warmer forest fire season, more pine beetles, more acidity off the coast," began Merkley. "The devastation of our kelp beds, the diminishment of our trout and salmon springs, to the loss of our average snowpack and affects both irrigation water, groundwater, and effects of winter sports. We see it everywhere.
"We should have been acting –yes- more boldly 30 years ago, but we didn't.”
Merkley says the oil industry backs politicians who promote fossil fuels, so Americans need to vote them out of power in addition to supporting alternative energy.
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