Dear friends: There is a main federal law "The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act" that gives great power to Governors and the President to protect us from catastrophes such as Climate Change. Here are some paragraphs about the function of the Stafford Act: The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (referred to as the Stafford Act - 42 U.S.C. 5721 et seq.) authorizes the President to issue “major disaster” or “emergency” declarations before or after catastrophes occur. Under current law, the decision to issue a declaration rests solely with the President. Congress has no formal role, but has taken actions to adjust the terms of the process. The Stafford Act stipulates several procedural actions a governor must take prior to requesting federal disaster assistance (including the execution within the state of the state emergency plan and an agreement to accept cost-share provisions and related information-sharing). Still, the process leaves broad discretion with the governor if he or she determines that a situation is“beyond the capabilities of the state.” The concession that a state can no longer respond on its own is difficult to quantify. It is the governor who makes that assessment, based on his or her knowledge of state resources and capabilities. Actions by a governor are a driving constant in this process. Both declarations of major disaster and declarations of emergency must be triggered by a request to the President from the governor of the affected state. The President cannot issue either an emergency or a major disaster declaration without a gubernatorial request. The only exception to this rule is the authority given to the President to declare an emergency when “he determines that an emergency exists for which the primary responsibility for response rests with the United States because the emergency involves a subject area for which, under the Constitution or laws of the United States, the United States can exercise exclusive or preeminent responsibility and authority.” Given the current political state of the USA, the Democratic governors and the Democratic president are more likely to embrace this strategy than ever before because the declarations not only would be a master blow to Climate Change but would also bring great protection to those States (and the nation if Obama has the courage to make a national declaration) from the agenda of the next president. Since the president is the one that approves federal support to deal with the disaster or emergency, the declarations should be made now before the end of Obama's presidency. I have initiated a request for a meeting with the California Governor and I am waiting for a response. In the meantime, I encourage you to get more signers for the petition and seek major disaster or emergency declarations from the government of your State or Nation. The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement has brought hope to those of us aware of the catastrophic current and future consequences of Climate Change but you must be aware that the (non-binding) commitments made by the signers of the agreement are not enough. It is estimated that the current commitments will increase the global average temperature by 3 (three) ºCelsius above pre-industrial levels within this century. This increase would greatly exacerbate the effects of Climate Change we are already experiencing. Token changes made to the main world economies will not stop Climate Change. The economies of the world must be transformed to be Greenhouse Gases (GHG)-neutral or, even better, negative, as fast as it is physically possible, with a level of mobilization equivalent to the one achieved in World War II. To achieve that level of mobilization, governments must be supported or forced to officially declare Climate Change a Major Disaster or Emergency. Climate Change must be named as the Disaster that it is and be made the number one security issue. Anything else, will guarantee an Earth unfavorable to most forms of life, including human life. There is hope if we continue to convince humanity that WE MUST ACT NOW. My best, Jorge Here is the link to a document that explains the Stafford Act: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43784.pdf