Climate security

Global warming presents a clear and present danger to America's national security, world stability

A warming globe will have game-changing impacts - more extreme heat and rainfall, and more destructive droughts, storms and wildfires. This year has already given us a glimpse of what those changes look like on a national and global scale. Hurricane Harvey slammed Houston with 9 trillion gallons of rain, which led to never-before-seen flooding. The entire island of Barbuda evacuated in advance of Hurricane José - just after Hurricane Irma destroyed 95 percent of its buildings and left it "barely habitable." Hurricane Maria has left Puerto Rico with the prospect of no electricity for four to six months.

Recent flooding in Sierra Leone has killed over a thousand people and caused "unprecedented damage," according to the United Nations. World Health Organization scientists predict higher rates of mosquito-borne diseases thanks to hotter global temperatures and climate-related flooding in Latin America. Dozens of wildfires are blazing across the northwestern U.S., putting 2017 on track to become one of the worst wildfire seasons in memory.