Attitude Toward Climate Change
is Unsustainable
By FRANK
CARINI, ecoRI.org
We have
been warned. Repeatedly. Yet, because of a toxic mixture of political will that
is for sale, staunch resistance from special interests, lack of societal
inertia, collective denial and a PR-manufactured package of lies constantly
puppeted by ignorant media and elected officials, we continue to ignore the
accelerating loss of our planet and, thus, our future.If we managed a traditional farm in such an unsustainable manner, we’d all be fired. But the continued plundering of Earth’s natural resources is done at humanity’s peril. We like to spout, especially during political campaigns or against anything that might change the status quo, about the need to protect future generations.
We, humans, are having an impact on the global systems needed for the continued survival of life. It’s plainly obvious, but it’s far easier to do nothing and more profitable to discredit the science and the scientists.
In 1992, the Union of Concerned Scientists warned:
“We the undersigned, senior members of the world’s scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.”
We responded to that warning by marketing gas-guzzling SUVs and Hummers to soccer moms and corporate lawyers.
In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment warned:
“Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of the Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.”
During
the past nine years we have responded to that warning with an all-out assault
on climate-change science. The status-quo crowd peddles profits before all
else. Just look at the laws passed, bills filed and rhetoric spewed. Our
elected “leaders” don’t even attempt to mask their greed and blatant disregard
for life — present or future.
A Kansas state bill would prevent public funds from being used for sustainable development. Introduced into the House Energy and Environment Committee, the bill would prevent public funds from being used “either directly or indirectly, to promote, support, mandate, require, order, incentivize, advocate, plan for, participate in or implement sustainable development.”
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Dennis Hedke, is the chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee. He’s also a contract geophysicist whose client list includes 30 regional oil and gas companies.
Hedke is the same Kansas legislator who introduced legislation mandating that teachers must provide students with information that counters scientific theories. Specifically, the bill states that teachers must “provide information to students of scientific evidence which both supports and counters a scientific theory or hypothesis.” Climate change is the only scientific topic mentioned.
This elected corporate shill also has introduced legislation that condemns the United Nation’sAgenda 21 environmental plan, which focuses on sustainable development. It, of course, was never ratified by Congress. But Hedke’s bill is a resolution “opposing and exposing the radical nature of United Nations Agenda 21 and its destructiveness to the principles of the founding documents of the United States of America.”
A Kansas state bill would prevent public funds from being used for sustainable development. Introduced into the House Energy and Environment Committee, the bill would prevent public funds from being used “either directly or indirectly, to promote, support, mandate, require, order, incentivize, advocate, plan for, participate in or implement sustainable development.”
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Dennis Hedke, is the chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee. He’s also a contract geophysicist whose client list includes 30 regional oil and gas companies.
Hedke is the same Kansas legislator who introduced legislation mandating that teachers must provide students with information that counters scientific theories. Specifically, the bill states that teachers must “provide information to students of scientific evidence which both supports and counters a scientific theory or hypothesis.” Climate change is the only scientific topic mentioned.
This elected corporate shill also has introduced legislation that condemns the United Nation’sAgenda 21 environmental plan, which focuses on sustainable development. It, of course, was never ratified by Congress. But Hedke’s bill is a resolution “opposing and exposing the radical nature of United Nations Agenda 21 and its destructiveness to the principles of the founding documents of the United States of America.”
Unfortunately,
his isn't the lone voice in a rapidly disappearing wilderness. This type of
nonsensical bullcrap is now all the rage, even though no country, international
organization, or even the United Nations has seriously begun to address the
concerns of a changing climate, the ongoing loss of biodiversity, the
accumulating amount of carbon pollution in the atmosphere and a human
population that is multiplying faster than the deer population on Block Island.
We deny our role in the record-breaking wild fires, droughts, heat waves and storms we are experiencing year after year. The sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is trivialized and ignored, even though these extinctions are happening so fast they are disrupting the planet’s intricate web of life — the natural process that sustains us.
The Center for Biological Diversity has warned:
“Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural ‘background’ rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day.”
Songbird populations have declined by about 50 percent in the past four decades. Populations of large ocean fish have declined by some 90 percent since the 1950s. Honeybee colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate.
But there’s little room for articulate public discussion because:
The Tennessee Legislature passes a measure that would protect teachers who allow students to criticize evolution and other scientific theories, such as climate change.
Texas and Louisiana introduce standards that require educators to teach climate-change denial as a valid scientific position.
South Dakota and Utah pass resolutions denying climate change even exists.
A 2012 presidential hopeful calls climate change a “hoax,” and dismisses the threat with a rudimentary understanding of science. “The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is,” Rick Santorum says.
Last year, The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed entitled “In Defense of Carbon Dioxide” that celebrated the rising levels of greenhouse gas as a boon to plant life.
We deny our role in the record-breaking wild fires, droughts, heat waves and storms we are experiencing year after year. The sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is trivialized and ignored, even though these extinctions are happening so fast they are disrupting the planet’s intricate web of life — the natural process that sustains us.
The Center for Biological Diversity has warned:
“Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural ‘background’ rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day.”
Songbird populations have declined by about 50 percent in the past four decades. Populations of large ocean fish have declined by some 90 percent since the 1950s. Honeybee colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate.
But there’s little room for articulate public discussion because:
The Tennessee Legislature passes a measure that would protect teachers who allow students to criticize evolution and other scientific theories, such as climate change.
Texas and Louisiana introduce standards that require educators to teach climate-change denial as a valid scientific position.
South Dakota and Utah pass resolutions denying climate change even exists.
A 2012 presidential hopeful calls climate change a “hoax,” and dismisses the threat with a rudimentary understanding of science. “The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is,” Rick Santorum says.
Last year, The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed entitled “In Defense of Carbon Dioxide” that celebrated the rising levels of greenhouse gas as a boon to plant life.
Not
a single climate scientist appeared as a guest on the
influential Sunday morning TV talk shows during the previous four years,
according to a January 2013 Media Matters report. Most of the people invited on
to those shows to speak about climate change during that time were either media
figures or politicians, according to Project Censored.
A law in North Carolina bans the state from basing coastal policies on the latest scientific predictions of how much sea level will rise.
A law in North Carolina bans the state from basing coastal policies on the latest scientific predictions of how much sea level will rise.
Foundations
and "think tanks" are paid handsomely by the status-quo crowd to spew
lies and question established science.
For
example, since 2008 the Heartland Institute has organized and hosted eight
International Conferences on Climate Change. It’s nothing but a gathering of
corporate-backed climate-change deniers, and its sole purpose is to debunk the
large body of scientific evidence showing that human activities are
contributing to a changing planet.
On its website — which includes the laughable tagline “Ideas That Empower People” — the organization brags that it is the “world’s most prominent think tank promoting skepticism about man-made climate change.” Yet, worldwide scientific consensus continues to back the fact that we are altering the planet’s climate by our actions, such as the enormous amount of greenhouse gases we have spewed into the air since the dawn of the Industrial Age.
Of course, the Chicago-based nonprofit, which is financially backed by ExxonMobil, other multinational corporations and the egomaniac Koch brothers, is the same institute that worked with Philip Morris in the 1990s to question the link between secondhand smoke and health risks.
If you are interested in participating in an adult discussion about the most important issue that currently faces us, head to Newport this Thursday, Jan. 30, for a forum entitled “Adapting to a Changing Climate: Policy Choices Facing Rhode Island.”
Here’s the description of the event from the organizers:
“How will climate change affect Rhode Island — particularly its coastlines — and how should the state be preparing for these changes? A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that impacts worldwide will be significant, and creates the opportunity for a timely discussion of this critical issue and its implications for our state.
“To be clear, this public forum is not intended to debate basic scientific questions such as whether global warming is occurring or whether it is caused by human actions. The scientific consensus around these issues is robust. Rather, the focus of this forum will be on the policy responses the state should consider. Should we incentivize lower-carbon fuels? Protect vulnerable coastal areas and structures? Create insurance programs that protect property owners from weather damage? When should such policies take effect and what would they cost?”
We need to start addressing those questions, and many others, now. We owe it to future generations.
Frank Carini is the executive editor of ecoRI News.
On its website — which includes the laughable tagline “Ideas That Empower People” — the organization brags that it is the “world’s most prominent think tank promoting skepticism about man-made climate change.” Yet, worldwide scientific consensus continues to back the fact that we are altering the planet’s climate by our actions, such as the enormous amount of greenhouse gases we have spewed into the air since the dawn of the Industrial Age.
Of course, the Chicago-based nonprofit, which is financially backed by ExxonMobil, other multinational corporations and the egomaniac Koch brothers, is the same institute that worked with Philip Morris in the 1990s to question the link between secondhand smoke and health risks.
If you are interested in participating in an adult discussion about the most important issue that currently faces us, head to Newport this Thursday, Jan. 30, for a forum entitled “Adapting to a Changing Climate: Policy Choices Facing Rhode Island.”
Here’s the description of the event from the organizers:
“How will climate change affect Rhode Island — particularly its coastlines — and how should the state be preparing for these changes? A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that impacts worldwide will be significant, and creates the opportunity for a timely discussion of this critical issue and its implications for our state.
“To be clear, this public forum is not intended to debate basic scientific questions such as whether global warming is occurring or whether it is caused by human actions. The scientific consensus around these issues is robust. Rather, the focus of this forum will be on the policy responses the state should consider. Should we incentivize lower-carbon fuels? Protect vulnerable coastal areas and structures? Create insurance programs that protect property owners from weather damage? When should such policies take effect and what would they cost?”
We need to start addressing those questions, and many others, now. We owe it to future generations.
Frank Carini is the executive editor of ecoRI News.