I listened to the Republican debate last night. This morning I read this article from Scientific American. I would describe this accidental combination as jarring. I don’t remember a comment about climate change in last night’s debate, but lots of support for coal and oil. Then, I read about the past year being the hottest year in history.
Aside from the many other topics on which I disagree with Republican politicians, the failure to address the climate crisis is especially troubling. I have a science background and I read continually on the topic (the middle section of The Parrot and the Igloo would be my most recent recommendation). The science seems settled on the issue with data from multiple techniques converging on the position that human behavior has resulted in a deterioration in the climate that is moving quickly now toward catastophe.
Why is this a political issue? The science has long been established fact and Republican politicians have for some reason chosen to refuse to accept the facts. The comparison to the medical damage resulting from smoking is an easy comparison, but an issue less related to political divisions. Political disagreements (e.g., the U.S.’s responsibility to address issues that are bringing so many displaced people to out borders, universal health care) are important to me and I have strong positions on such issues, but these positions seem different in that the positions are aboue values. If you somehow believe that you have no responsibility to future generations and their well-being, I guess you might see this as a value-based perspective, but I really hope people are not so self-centered that they can take this position. If this seems a reasonable attitude, the science is clear and to ignore this reality in favor of supporting increasing use of fossil fuels is wrong.
I don’t see meaningful action at a level other than a national, government controlled level and I expect politicians to accept this responsibility and not ignore what Gore called an inconvenient truth. Serious people need to take serious action. I expect politicians and the voters who elect them to be serious people.