Biden is feeling the heat: White House to fight record-breaking temperatures with new climate office and $25 million investment in air conditioning — attacking Republicans for denying the ‘existence’ of global warming
- There are plans because more than 37 million Americans were under a heat advisory
- Proposals will provide low-income households with air conditioning
- Biden criticized GOP for wanting to repeal “biggest climate protection law ever.”
President Joe Biden is tackling the heat wave making its way across the US with a $25 million investment in air conditioning and an attack on Republicans for denying climate change.
With record high temperatures being felt from the Pacific Northwest to the Southwest and across the country to the Florida Panhandle, the White House on Tuesday announced its plans to combat the extreme heat.
Some of that pressure includes cracking down on congressional Republicans who want to repeal Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contained funds and programs to help the country transition to a clean energy economy.
Many Republicans in Congress continue to deny the existence of climate change and remain committed to repeal the president’s Inflation Reduction Act — the largest climate protection bill ever — which would jeopardize the health and safety of their own voters. undermining,” the White House noted in a fact sheet.
More than 37 million Americans were under a heat advisory this week. And the planet reached an average global temperature of 17.17 degrees Celsius, or 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit, on Saturday — the fifth warmest day on record.
Phoenix reached at least 110 degrees on nine consecutive days and Miami recorded a record high of 96 degrees on Saturday.
To counter the nationwide heat wave, the Biden White House is planning the following:
- On Tuesday, it will hold a summit on climate resilience and sustainability in affordable housing to focus on how money from the infrastructure bill can be used to help low-income Americans
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will set up two virtual research centers with $5 million in funding to track the heat
- Creation of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within the Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Energy is investing $25 million through its Weatherization Assistance Program to provide air conditioning to low-income households
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched the #SummerReady campaign to mark heat warnings for communities
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announces more than $830 million to invest in cool coatings for roofs to lower building temperatures during hot days and improve window seals
- Upgrade school facilities to be safe spaces for children and their families during extreme heat and smoke from wildfires
July is on track to become the warmest month on record in the US. The southwest is especially feeling the heat.
On Friday, the National Weather Service said conditions in Arizona were “one of the worst heat waves this area has ever seen.”
President Joe Biden is tackling the heat wave making its way across the US
Randy Twede, 70, sits in the shadows as he waits for the bus in Austin, Texas. “These temperatures are no joke, I’m just trying to survive, that’s all,” Twede said
A person eats a cold dessert in Palm Springs, California, after the state experienced its first heat wave of the season last week
The planet is experiencing a combination of the effects of global warming and the El Nino climate phenomenon, scientists say.
El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that develops every two to seven years when the Pacific Ocean experiences “warmer-than-average” surface temperatures.
This transition will cause the northern US and Canada to experience drier and warmer weather than usual, while the Gulf Coast and southeastern US will see more precipitation and flooding.
Scientists worry the combo could see the planet experience its hottest year in recorded history.