Resolution 209-20131 RESOLUTION NO. 209 -2013
2 RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA,
3 URGING PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND THE UNITED
4 STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ADMINISTRATOR TO REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE AND
OTHER GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION PURUSANT TO
5 THE CLEAN AIR ACT, AND PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
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7 (Sponsored by Mayor George Neugent)
8 WHEREAS, the decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record, and 2005
9 and 2010 tied for the hottest years on record; and
10 WHEREAS, one of the world's leading climate scientists, Dr. James Hansen,
11 stated in 2008: "If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which
12 civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and
13 climate change suggest that Carbon Dioxide CCO2 ") will need to be reduced from its
14 current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm;" and
15 WHEREAS, the current level of CO in the atmosphere is approximately 392
16 parts per million ( "ppm "); and
17 WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ( "EPA ")
18 determined that current and future greenhouse gas concentrations endanger public
19 health, and, according to the Global Humanitarian Forum, climate change is already
20 responsible every year for some 300,000 deaths, 325 million people seriously affected,
21 and economic losses worldwide of $125 billion; and
22 WHEREAS, extreme weather events, most notably heat waves and precipitation
23 extremes, are striking with increased frequency and with deadly consequences for
24 people and wildlife. In the United States during 2011 alone, a record fourteen (14)
weather and climate disasters occurred, including droughts, heat waves, and floods,
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that cost at least $1 billion each in damages and loss of human lives; and
WHEREAS, climate change is affecting food security by negatively impacting the
growth and yields of important crops; and
WHEREAS, droughts, floods, and changes in snowpack are altering water
I supplies; and
WHEREAS, scientists have concluded that by 2100 as many as one (1) in ten
(10) species may be on the verge of extinction due to climate change; and
WHEREAS, the world's land -based ice is rapidly melting, threatening water
supplies in many regions and raising sea levels, and Arctic summer sea ice extent has
decreased to about half what it was several decades ago, with an accompanying drastic
reduction in sea -ice thickness and volume, which is severely jeopardizing ice - dependent
animals; and
WHEREAS, sea level is rising faster along the United States East Coast than it
has for at least the past 2,000 years, is accelerating in pace, and could rise by one (1)
to two (2) meters in this century, threatening millions of Americans with severe flooding;
and
WHEREAS, for over four (4) decades, the Clean Air Act has protected the air we
breathe through a proven, comprehensive, successful system of pollution control that
saves lives and creates economic benefits exceeding its costs by many times; and
WHEREAS, due to the Clean Air Act, air quality in this country has improved
significantly since 1970, despite major growth in both our economy and industrial
production; and
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1 WHEREAS, between 1970 and 1990, the six (6) main pollutants covered by the
2 Clean Air Act - particulate matter and ground -level ozone (both of which contribute to
3 smog and asthma), carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur, and nitrogen oxides (the pollutants
4 that cause acid rain) - were reduced by between forty -seven percent (47 %) and
5 ninety -three percent (93 %), and airborne lead was virtually eliminated; and
6 WHEREAS, the Clean Air Act has produced economic benefits valued at
7 $2 trillion or thirty (30) times the cost of regulation; and
8 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs.
9 Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), that greenhouse gases are "air
10 pollutants" as defined by the Clean Air Act and the EPA has the authority to regulate
11 them; and
12 WHEREAS, Monroe County prides itself on being a leader in the fight against
13 climate change and for clean air, demonstrated by the creation of the Monroe
15 County Climate Change Advisory Committee in 2011, acceptance of the Monroe
16 County Climate Action Plan in 2013, support for and participation in the Southeast
17 Florida Regional Climate Compact beginning in 2009, and the adoption of the Southeast
18 Florida Regional Climate Action Plan in November 2012, among many other
19 actions;
20 NOW THEREFORE,
21 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
22 M O N R O E COUNTY, FLORIDA:
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Section 1 .The Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida,
on behalf of the nearly 76,000 residents of Monroe County, hereby urges President
Barack Obama and the Administrator of the EPA to move swiftly to fully employ and
enforce the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere to no more
than 350 parts per million and to reduce atmospheric levels of other greenhouse gases.
Section 2 . The Board directs the County Administrator to provide a copy of
this resolution to President Barack Obama and the Administrator of the EPA.
Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption.
ADOPTED this 17th day July , 2013.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida, at a
meeting of said Board held on the 17` day of July 2013. 3
(SEAL)
Attest: AMY HEAVILIN, Clerk
By
Deputy Clerk
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
BY .�ita.3
Mayo hairman
MONROE COUNTY ATTORNEY
PR VED � A , S I TO RM:
4
NATILEENE W. CASSEL
ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY
Date - - I — c2f2 1:5
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Mayor George Neugent
Yes
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Mayor Pro Tem Heather Carruthers
Yes
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Commissioner Sylvia Murphy
Yes
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Commissioner Danny L. Kolhage
Yes
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Commissioner David Rice
Yes
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(SEAL)
Attest: AMY HEAVILIN, Clerk
By
Deputy Clerk
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
BY .�ita.3
Mayo hairman
MONROE COUNTY ATTORNEY
PR VED � A , S I TO RM:
4
NATILEENE W. CASSEL
ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY
Date - - I — c2f2 1:5