The Berkeley City Council on Tuesday night declared what it called a “climate emergency” with more global significance than World War II, and demanded an immediate effort to “humanely stabilize population” and “reverse ecological overshoot.”

The resolution, which invokes the global conflict between the Axis and Allies, charges that Americans bear an “extraordinary responsibility to solve the crises” facing the environment.

“uring World War II, the Bay Area came together across race, age, class, gender and other differences in an extraordinary regional mobilization, building and repairing Liberty ships, converting car assembly plants into tank manufacturing facilities,” the resolution reads.

A similar effort is necessary today to confront an even greater threat, according to the document.

“e can rise to the challenge of the greatest crisis in history by organizing politically to catalyze a national and global climate emergency effort, employing local workers in a mobilization effort building and installing renewable energy infrastructure,” the resolution says.

More than 60 million people died during World War II, according to most estimates — a huge portion of the global population.

But according to the Berkeley City Council, another thinning of the herd might be needed. – READ MORE