As the East Coast sizzled and the smoke cleared in Colorado, a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (PDF) affirmed once again that the Clean Air Act provides us with a potent tool to limit the pollution that causes climate change. And not a moment too soon. 

The cumulative toll of the past weeks' wildfires and extreme storms tells a compelling tale about climate disruption. More than 1,000 heat records were broken in the space of a week, when the super derecho hit, followed by triple-digit temperatures along the eastern seaboard. In a July 3 Climatewire article, meteorologist Dave Samuhel noted, "Heat is the fuel that these storms use to erupt."

What fueled the Colorado fires was not just the heat, but the tinder left by drought and bark beetle infestation. My colleague Bob Yuhnke watched the conflagration from his home with a mixture of awe and dread as he awaited evacuation instructions. He had this to say: "Every few minutes, trees explode into 40- to 60-foot high flares of flame lighting up the mountain. When I start to watch, I can't pull myself away. It's like having a front row seat to watch ...

Link to original article / Continue Reading...

Compass is a Sierra Club Blog, " Pointing the way to a clean energy future."