New Report: Temperatures in Pennsylvania on the Rise
PHILADELPHIA -- Temperatures were above average in cities across Pennsylvania in 2006, according to a new report released today by PennEnvironment. PennEnvironment said this warmer-than-normal weather is indicative of what Pennsylvania can expect with continued global warming, and the group called on Governor Rendell and Pennsylvania’s federal elected officials to take immediate action to cut global warming pollution.
“Pennsylvania will continue to feel the heat as global warming raises temperatures throughout the state and across the country,” said Nathan Willcox, Energy & Clean Air Advocate for PennEnvironment. “The long-term forecast is for more of the same unless we quickly and significantly reduce global warming pollution from power plants and passenger vehicles.”
According to the National Climatic Data Center, the 2006 summer and 2006 overall were the second warmest on record for the lower 48 states. 2007 is on track to be the second warmest year on record globally.
To examine recent temperature patterns in the United States, PennEnvironment compared temperature data for the years 2000-2006 from 255 weather stations located in all 50 states and Washington, DC with temperatures averaged over the 30 years spanning 1971-2000, or what scientists call the “normal” temperature.
PennEnvironment was joined in releasing it's "Feeling the Heat" report by Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Clean Air Council, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter and Bishop Charles Bennison, Jr., head of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Sen. Casey announced his support last week for the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, the most aggressive legislation being debated in the U.S. Senate to deal with the global warming issue.
“We must take action now to slow, stop and reverse our greenhouse gas emissions or the problem will become more severe and the solution more drastic,” said Senator Casey. “I strongly believe that we have a moral duty to preserve the environment not just so we can have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, but because this world is in our care for our children and our children’s children.”
“We already have had 11 days over 90 degrees this year, and these increases in temperature carry with them serious public health impacts,” said Dr. Walter Tsou with Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility. “All of us need to support legislation to reduce greenhouse gases.”
"At the heart of all religious traditions is the human responsibility to be social stewards of the environment, to care for the fragile earth, our island home," said Bishop Charles Bennison, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. "We have at hand the technology to produce clean, renewable energy through wind and solar power. God will not smile kindly up on us if we do not have the will to use it and many, as a result, suffer seriously."
“The time for talk is over,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Director of Clean Air Council. “It is unconscionable that the United States has yet to adopt a comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction strategy.”
Key findings of PennEnvironment's "Feeling the Heat" report for cities in Pennsylvania include:
• In 2006, the average temperature was above normal in cities across Pennsylvania. Specifically, Allentown was 3.1°F above normal, Wilkes-Barre was 1.7°F above normal, Erie was 1.5°F above normal, Harrisburg was 2.2°F above normal, Philadelphia was 2.4°F above normal, Pittsburgh was 1.6°F above normal and Williamsport was 2.9°F above normal. Nationally, the average 2006 temperature was at least 0.5°F above normal at 87 percent of the locations studied.
• In 2006, cities across Pennsylvania experienced average maximum temperatures — the highest temperatures recorded on a given day — that were above normal. Among the Pennsylvania cities experiencing the biggest changes in 2006 in this category, Allentown experienced average maximum temperatures 3.2°F above normal, Philadelphia experienced average maximum temperatures 2.9°F above normal, and Williamsport experienced average maximum temperatures 2.8°F above normal.
• Cities across Pennsylvania experienced average minimum temperatures — the lowest temperatures recorded on a given day, usually at night — that were higher than normal in 2006. Among the Pennsylvania cities experiencing the biggest changes in 2006 in this category, Allentown experienced average minimum temperatures 2.5 °F above normal, Harrisburg experienced average minimum temperatures 2.0°F above normal and Williamsport experienced average minimum temperatures 2.4°F above normal. Warmer nighttime temperatures exacerbate the public health effects of heat waves, since people need cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from excessive heat exposure during the day.
• These Pennsylvania cities’ above-average temperatures in 2006 are part of a broader warming trend since 2000. All seven Pennsylvania cities cited in the report experienced average temperatures between 2000 and 2006 that were above the 30-year averages for those cities. Nationally, the average temperature during this seven year period was at least 0.5°F above normal at 87 percent of the locations studied.
In April 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that North America could experience significant water stress, forest fires, and “an increased number, intensity, and duration of heat waves” as temperatures continue to rise. To avoid the worst consequences of global warming, the United States must halt increases in global warming emissions now, cut emissions by at least 15-20% by 2020, and slash emissions by at least 80% by 2050.
“Scientists are sounding alarm bells about the impacts of continued global warming,” stated Willcox. “The good news is that those same scientists say we can avoid the worst effects of global warming by taking bold action now to reduce global warming pollution. The better news is that we have the technology at our fingertips to cut global warming pollution and forge a cleaner, more secure energy future. As a first step, Congress can take action next week by passing the national Renewable Electricity Standard legislation (H.R. 969).”
The United States could substantially reduce its global warming pollution by using existing technologies to make power plants, businesses, homes, and cars more efficient and generate more electricity from clean, renewable sources, such as wind and solar power.
Pennsylvania could do the same at the state level, and Governor Rendell is expected to announce a state-level global warming plan later this summer. PennEnvironment is urging the governor to include science-based pollution reduction targets in his much-anticipated plan.
At the federal level, Congress is poised to consider global warming legislation this fall. The Safe Climate Act in the U.S. House and the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act in the U.S. Senate are the only bills that would reduce pollution to levels that scientists say are needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming.
“The heat is on our leaders in Harrisburg and Washington, DC to take decisive action to curb global warming,” stated Willcox. “PennEnvironment supports Gov. Rendell’s plans to unveil a state-level global warming strategy, and we urge him to include science-based pollution reduction targets in that strategy. We also commend Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. and local U.S. Representatives Brady, Fattah, Murphy, Schwartz and Sestak and for cosponsoring the only bills that do what scientists say we need to do—the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act in the Senate and the Safe Climate Act in the House.”
