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BILL NO. 19-33
<br /> RESOLUTION NO. 4787-19
<br /> A RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL CONCERNING
<br /> CLIMATE RECOVERY AND OUR COMMITMENT TO DEVELOP A CLIMATE
<br /> ACTION PLAN AIMED AT GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS FOR THE CITY OF
<br /> SOUTH BEND AND TO SUPPORT OTHER CLIMATE RELATED INITIATIVES.
<br /> WHEREAS, scientific consensus concludes that it is extremely likely that the dominant cause of
<br /> ongoing climate change is the emission of heat-trapping gases by human actions, primarily from
<br /> the combustion of fossil fuels; and the more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the warmer our
<br /> planet gets. Per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), carbon has not
<br /> been this highly concentrated in the atmosphere in the past 800,000 years; in fact, according to
<br /> NOAA, the last five years, 2014-2018, are the warmest years ever recorded 1; and
<br /> WHEREAS, in 1988,NASA's Dr. James Hanson testified before Congress on the impending
<br /> perils of climate change, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was
<br /> established by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Association, and has since
<br /> released five climate assessments with each affirming: the planet is getting warmer and humans
<br /> are causing it through our carbon emissions, and unless we reduce emissions, there are serious
<br /> environmental consequences in our future. Both the 1997 Kyoto Protocol2 and the 2015 Parisi
<br /> Agreement challenged nations to reduce greenhouse emissions and thereby, limit climate change,
<br /> and the 2019 IPCC report just released in January advocates for policies aimed at temperature
<br /> targets under one point five (1.5) degrees Celsius, and further acknowledged that the impact of
<br /> even a one point five (1.5) degrees Celsius rise will pose drastic impact on the Earth's
<br /> ecosystems and inhabitants4; and
<br /> WHEREAS, climate change already poses risks at the global, state, and local level, impacts
<br /> evidenced around the world are: changes in precipitation(intensification of both drought and
<br /> storm effects), ocean acidification, coral reef degradation, loss of species,threats to marine life
<br /> and biodiversity, rising sea levels threatening food supplies and livelihoods, and forced
<br /> emigration of coastal populations. In addition, extreme weather events, temperatures, and air
<br /> pollutants can acutely impact human health. The elderly, young, homeless, and people with
<br /> chronic diseases, or respiratory illnesses (such as asthma) are particularly sensitive to extreme
<br /> temperatures contributing to increase hospital visits, health care costs, and mortality. Another
<br /> health effect of climate change is the spread of disease such as Lyme and the Zika Virus which
<br /> are transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes that thrive in hot, humid environments5; and
<br /> WHEREAS, Indiana and South Bend will certainly share in some of these impacts, already
<br /> documented or projected effects include, but are not limited to: record breaking heat waves and
<br /> high humidity (with accompanying increased demand for cooling), reduced water and air quality,
<br /> decreased agricultural productivity (e.g., of corn and soybean crops); increased heavy rainfall
<br /> leading to more flooding, shorter winters and delayed fall freeze (e.g., extending the ragweed
<br /> allergy season), increased invasive species; loss of plant, fish and wildlife habitats6; and
<br /> WHEREAS,these and other impacts will not be equally distributed; communities that already
<br /> face socioeconomic and health inequities, whether around the world or here in our community,
<br /> 1 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/02/2018-fourth-warmest-year-ever-noaa-nasa-
<br /> reports/
<br /> 2 UNFCCC(1997) Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted at COP3
<br /> in Kyoto,Japan on 11 December 1997
<br /> 3 https://unfccc.int/resource/bigpicture/#content-the-Paris-agreement
<br /> 4 https://www.ipcc.ch/
<br /> 5 http://docs.southbendin.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?dbid=0&startid=279856&row=1&cr=1
<br /> 6 Purdue Climate Change Research Center's 2019 Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment;
<br /> https://ag.purdue.edu/indianaclimate/
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