Biden says storm, wildfire disasters show ‘climate crisis’ is here
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged robust federal help for the Northeastern and Gulf states battered by Hurricane Ida and for Western states beset by wildfires — with the catastrophes serving as deadly reminders that the “climate crisis” has arrived.
“These extreme storms, and the climate crisis, are here,” Biden said in a White House speech. “We must be better prepared. We need to act.”
The president said he will further press Congress to pass his nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill to improve roads, bridges, the electric grid and sewer systems. The proposal intends to ensure that the vital networks connecting cities and states and the country as a whole can withstand the flooding, whirlwinds and damage caused by increasingly dangerous weather. Biden stressed that the challenge transcends the politics of a deeply divided nation because of the threats posed by the storms and fires.
“It’s a matter of life and death, and we’re all in this together,” the president said.
Scientists say climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events — such as large tropical storms, and the droughts and heat waves that create conditions for vast wildfires. Weather officials recently reported that July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded in 142 years of record-keeping.
Biden said the flooding in Louisiana was less than the region experienced 16 years ago during Hurricane Katrina, crediting federal investments in the area’s levee system.
“We know that there is much to be done in this response on our part,” Biden added. “We need to get power restored. We need to get more food, fuel and water deployed.”
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards suggested that Biden’s visit Friday would be crucial for the president to understand the destruction.
“There’s nothing quite like visiting in person,” Edwards told reporters Wednesday following a briefing with local elected officials in Jefferson Parish, which took direct blows from Ida. “When you see it for yourself, it is just so much more compelling.”