OR Gov. Brown: Impacts of Climate Change Are ‘Absolutely’ a Public Health Emergency Like COVID Is

During an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) said that the impacts of climate change are another public health emergency in addition to the coronavirus pandemic.

After mentioning the heat in the state, host Linsey Davis asked, “Your state is already dealing with one public emergency with COVID. Are the effects of climate change another public health emergency?”

Brown responded, “Absolutely. Certainly, in the June heat event, we lost over 100 Oregonians, our forests are burning up, and our rivers and our lakes are drying up. 93% of the state is in either extreme or severe drought, and these heat conditions are very challenging for communities that, frankly, are not used to them. And we know that these climate events impact our communities of color, our low-income communities, and our rural communities the hardest.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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