{"id":75105,"date":"2024-06-17T21:08:07","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T21:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/17\/dozens-of-groups-push-fema-to-recognize-extreme-heat-as-a-major-disaster\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T21:08:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T21:08:07","slug":"dozens-of-groups-push-fema-to-recognize-extreme-heat-as-a-major-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/17\/dozens-of-groups-push-fema-to-recognize-extreme-heat-as-a-major-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens of Groups Push FEMA to Recognize Extreme Heat as a \u2018Major Disaster\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/17\/science\/17CLI-HEAT-UNIONS\/17CLI-HEAT-UNIONS-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Dozens of Groups Push FEMA to Recognize Extreme Heat as a \u2018Major Disaster\u2019\" title=\"Dozens of Groups Push FEMA to Recognize Extreme Heat as a \u2018Major Disaster\u2019\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dozens of environmental, labor and health care groups banded together on Monday to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biologicaldiversity.org\/programs\/energy-justice\/pdfs\/EMBARGOED_FEMA-Petition-on-Heat-and-Wildfire-Smoke.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">file a petition<\/a> to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke as \u201cmajor disasters,\u201d like floods and tornadoes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The petition is a major push to get the federal government to help states and local communities that are straining under the growing costs of climate change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If accepted, the petition could unlock FEMA funds to help localities prepare for heat waves and wildfire smoke by building cooling centers or installing air filtration systems in schools. The agency could also help during emergencies by paying for water distribution, health screenings for vulnerable people and increased electricity use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMajor disaster declarations really open up the broadest pockets of funding that FEMA has available,\u201d said Jean Su, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, and the lead author of the petition. \u201cState and local governments are severely ill equipped and underfunded to even deal with emergency measures.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The support of major labor groups like the A.F.L.-CIO and the Service Employees International Union is part of a broader strategy from unions to create protection for the tens of millions of people working outside or without air-conditioning during heat waves. Unions want the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to r<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/25\/climate\/extreme-heat-biden-workplace.html\" title=\"\">equire employers to protect workers<\/a> from extreme temperatures. The White House has pushed officials at the Labor Department, which oversees OSHA, to publish a draft heat regulation this summer. But major business and industry groups, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are opposed to any new requirements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Labor groups and workers\u2019 rights organizations hope that, if the petition to FEMA is accepted, there would be more pressure for employers to address heat in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf extreme heat and wildfire smoke are designated as major disasters then it\u2019s all hands on deck,\u201d said Christine Bola\u00f1os, the communications director of Workers Defense Project, a nonprofit focused on labor rights. A major disaster classification, she said, would force OSHA to make heat worker protections a priority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The move underscores the growing concerns about the impact of extreme heat among lawmakers, activists and labor groups. Last June, Representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a Democrat, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/rubengallego.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/gallego-introduces-bipartisan-bill-declare-extreme-heat-emergencies\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">introduced legislation<\/a> to declare extreme heat a major disaster under FEMA\u2019s classification. The bill, which has not progressed, was co-sponsored by 11 Democrats but just one Republican.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Heat already kills more people in the United States each year than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined, according to the National Weather Service. Still, the tools to address the consequences of extreme temperatures are being built from scratch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNone of the world\u2019s institutions, tools, data sets, et cetera are fit for purpose to respond to the size of extreme heat for communities,\u201d said Kathy Baughman McLeod, the chief executive officer of Climate Resilience for All, a nonprofit focused on addressing extreme heat globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the years, FEMA has denied several similar requests to declare some past heat waves major disasters, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/25\/climate\/extreme-heat-biden-workplace.html\" title=\"\">including one by California<\/a> Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2022, after a record-breaking, triple-digit heat dome formed over the state. At the time, the agency argued that \u201cprecedent is to evaluate discrete events and impacts, not seasonal or general atmospheric conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The 1988 Stafford Act, which authorizes the federal government to declare a disaster or emergency, does not explicitly include extreme heat in its list of 16 causes. But the labor and environmental groups\u2019 petition argues that the agency declared the coronavirus pandemic a major disaster, even though it was also absent from the list, opening a precedent the groups hope to exploit. The petitioners plan to litigate the matter if FEMA again denies the request.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Declaring extreme heat events as major disasters could pose challenges for FEMA. Generally, the agency declares disasters based on how much uninsured public infrastructure was damaged and how many people died. But during heat waves, damaged property is not the main risk, and counting heat-related deaths is difficult, in part because death certificates don\u2019t always reflect the role heat played into a person\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During disasters communities that don\u2019t prepare for extreme events can sometimes receive more funds than communities that do, said Brock Long, who was the administrator of FEMA during the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Long said he worries that adding new items to the list of FEMA\u2019s major disasters would be like \u201cstrapping new parts to a rusty old bicycle frame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s time for Congress to sit down with big infrastructure owners and community leaders on how we redesign a system that makes sense,\u201d Mr. Long said. \u201cWe are never going to be able to address the changing climate or threats to the future under the existing system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If FEMA accepts the petition, it would launch a process to amend its rules to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke as possible major disasters and accept public comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/17\/climate\/labor-unions-fema-disaster-relief.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dozens of environmental, labor and health care groups banded together on Monday to file a petition to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke as \u201cmajor disasters,\u201d like floods and tornadoes. The petition is a major push to get the federal government to help states and local communities that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/17\/science\/17CLI-HEAT-UNIONS\/17CLI-HEAT-UNIONS-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15695,9482,4620,16081,726,1029,846,4759,17264],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75107,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75105\/revisions\/75107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}