The reality of climate change

A message from President & CEO Dr. R. Max Holmes

Climate change is real. Last year, alone, warming-fueled disasters cost the U.S. at least $185 billion and hundreds of Americans’ lives.

Ignoring or denying the problem won’t make it go away. In fact, it will make it decidedly worse. And yet, in recent weeks, we have seen a dangerous pullback of our federal government from activities that enable American communities to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate impacts.

For the first time in over a decade, climate change was omitted from the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment. The U.S. Global Change Research Program and its flagship National Climate Assessment have been defunded. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research programs are facing deep cuts. And most recently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) cancelled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and rescinded nearly $1 billion in previously awarded funding.

Ensuring every community has the information and resources it needs to reduce risks and increase resilience shouldn’t be a partisan issue; it’s just common sense. And we have seen in our own work that the benefits of climate science flow to all Americans, regardless of party affiliation.

• The free risk assessments produced through our Just Access partnerships have benefited dozens of communities across the country—in South Carolina, Utah, Kentucky, and Nevada, as well as Massachusetts.

• Our soil carbon work helps rangeland managers in the American West and farmers in the midwest and mid-Atlantic make better decisions for the future health and productivity of their lands.

• Our Science on the Fly project engages fly fishers across the country—and across the political spectrum—in the work of monitoring and advocating for river health.

Our federal government has a critical responsibility to advance climate awareness and preparedness. But non-profits like Woodwell Climate have always picked up where government leaves off.

In the face of a federal withdrawal—and with your help—we will step into the gap.

We’re standing strong. Stand with us.

Onward,