Center for Biological Diversity


Media Advisory, October 4, 2016

Contact: Catherine Kilduff, (202) 780-8862, ckilduff@biologicaldiversity.org

Outside Vice Presidential Debate, 'Frostpaw the Polar Bear' to
Deliver 'Save the Humans' Climate Message

FARMVILLE, Va.— As drought and rising seas threaten Americas food production and coastal communities, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Frostpaw the Polar Bear will call for urgent action against climate change outside tonights vice presidential debate between Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at Longwood University.

Holding a sign reading “Save the humans” Frostpaw will urge both candidates to announce plans for strong new measures to cut planet-warming pollution and ward off the most dangerous effects of climate change. In Norfolk, normal tides have risen 1.5 feet over the past century, and the Hampton Roads area already suffers regular flooding.

“Americas next leaders must confront the climate change threat to humanity’s future,” said Catherine Kilduff, senior attorney at the Center. “As global warming accelerates, surging seas and searing heat will endanger millions of people in the United States and across the world. Our nation has the power and the responsibility to take much stronger strong action to cut carbon pollution and leave dirty fossil fuels in the ground.” 

What: Frostpaw the Polar Bear and other climate activists will hold signs outside the vice-presidential debate urging both candidates to fight global warming.

Where: Outside the vice presidential debate at Longwood University, 201 High St, Farmville, Va.

When: Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 5 p.m. until the start of the debate.

Media Availability: Frostpaw and other Center activists are available for interviews. Contact Catherine Kilduff.

Background
Some 25 million Americans live in areas threatened by sea level rise, according to a Climate Central analysis. As climate change drives sea levels higher, coastal cities face rising risks from flooding and devastating storm surges.

Global warming is already affecting food production in the United States and around the world, and a 2014 United Nations report found that threats to farming and fisheries will increase as temperatures rise. Wheat yields around the world could decline by some 35 million tons a year with just 1 degree Celsius of warming, according to a recent Nature Climate Change study.  

This August marked 16 consecutive months of record-breaking heat for the globe, and this summer was the hottest in recorded history.

As global warming has worsened, the Center has urged President Obama and other world leaders to leave dirty fossil fuels in the ground and cut greenhouse pollution from airplanes and other unregulated sources.

Frostpaw has shown up around the country — from Alaska and Hawaii to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington — urging President Obama to take strong action on climate.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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