National Wildlife Federation: Hurricane Dorian, Climate-Fueled Disasters Show Urgent Need for Solutions

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 -- The National Wildlife Federation issued the following news release:

Hurricane Dorian shows not only how climate change is devastating communities and wildlife habitats alike, but also the urgent need for climate solutions.

"Hurricane Dorian and the unnatural disasters we're seeing worldwide, from fires in the Amazon to floods in the Midwest, are all symptoms of the intensifying climate crisis. Even as Dorian threatens the Atlantic Coast, many communities are still reeling from the hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, inland flooding, and megafires of 2017 and 2018. Everyone can now see the clear and present danger the climate crisis poses to wildlife and our way of life," said Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. "Failing to act has exacerbated catastrophe after catastrophe -- with the most harm falling upon those who can least afford it. We owe it to everyone affected by Hurricane Dorian to enact solutions that match the magnitude of the crisis we face."

The National Wildlife Federation has pressed lawmakers to take a series of concrete steps to not only address climate change, but also to significantly reduce the risks facing Americans and wildlife alike in coastal regions, including:

* Rebuilding America's man-made and natural infrastructure in ways that reduce emissions, improve resilience, and bolster our competitiveness.

* Reducing carbon emissions by investing in natural solutions, clean energy, and energy efficiency.

* Improving the resilience of local communities and wildlife habitat by restoring natural defenses, making more funding available for flood mitigation measures before disaster strikes, and reforming the National Flood Insurance Program (discourage risky coastal and floodplain development, require more accurate flood maps, etc.).

* Defending the Clean Water Act to prevent rollbacks that will jeopardize millions of acres of wetlands -- natural sponges that retain floodwaters -- leaving communities across the country at increased risk of flooding.