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Eastchester Reacts To Report On Dangers From Climate Change

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. – Although the sun was shining in Eastchester on Tuesday, the world’s climate continues to shift in the wrong direction, according to scientists who believe the change may lead to harsher, more unpredictable weather.

Mount Vernon natives Steve Burnside and Carlene Swan (left) and Eastchester resident Lucas Francis Jr. enjoyed the warm weather on Tuesday.

Mount Vernon natives Steve Burnside and Carlene Swan (left) and Eastchester resident Lucas Francis Jr. enjoyed the warm weather on Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Zak Failla

According to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations group that periodically summarizes climate science, the shift is already in progress, and the world may not be prepared for the risk.

The study attributes greenhouse emissions as the greatest problem, and warns that the world may be ill-prepared for the climate change. The IPCC report, which was a collaborative of more than 300 authors, states that the ice caps are melting, coral reefs are dying, weather has become more extreme and water supplies will soon be diminished.

In Eastchester, Lucas Francis Jr., 29, said that the situation reminded him of the movie “The Day After Tomorrow.”

“It’s hard not to notice the last few years, how hard not only New York, but really the whole world, has been hit by extreme weather,” he said. “There has to be a reason for it, but that’s for smarter men than me to figure out.”

Vincente Barros, the co-chair of Working Group II - a division of the IPCC – said that the world might be vulnerable to the climate shift.

“We live in an era of man-made climate change,” he said in a statement. “In many cases, we are not prepared for the climate-related risks that we already face.”

Mount Vernon resident Carlene Swan wasn’t alarmed by the report, adding, “there’s nothing (she) could do about it anyway.”

“Unless the world radically shifts course, and new laws are passed limiting driving and stressing mass transit and things along those lines, it won’t matter if one person reduces their (carbon footprint,)” she said. “Everyone is ‘going green,’ but things only keep getting worse.”

The study claims that the climate changes have already negatively affected agriculture, human health, water supplies and the ecosystems of various species.

After living through the ups and downs of this turbulent winter, and experiencing the countless “1,000 Year Storms” that have ripped through Westchester County, Mount Vernon native Steve “Bernie” Burnside said he thought the study should be taken seriously.

“Anyone who lives here knows how bad the last few winters have been with the storms,” he said. “If this is really already happening, the world needs to open (its) eyes and do something about it.”

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