ESPM scientist speaks to Congress on human-caused climate change

June 24, 2019
Dr. Patrick Gonzalez presents scientific findings to Representative Mike Quigley and other members of the congressional committee

<p>Dr. Patrick Gonzalez presents scientific findings to Representative Mike Quigley and other members of the U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Members in the U.S. Capitol (photo by P. Harman).</p>

Patrick Gonzalez, an associate adjunct professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and an affiliate in the UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity, spoke on June 20, 2019, to the U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition on impacts and solutions to human-caused climate change in national parks. Gonzalez also testified to the House Natural Resources Committee in February on protecting our parks from climate change.

He discussed his research on the disproportionate exposure of U.S. national parks to hotter and drier conditions, and spoke on an another study on the increased wildfire, melting glaciers, and shifts of biomes and wildlife driven by human-caused climate change.

Gonzalez reviewed how meeting the Paris Agreement goals could reduce projected heating in national parks by two-thirds and reduce risks of species extinctions and severe wildfire. Members of Congress asked questions on how to integrate these scientific findings into effective legislation and policy.