Climate disaster requires a different kind of courage
The display of courage and compassion in Houston is inspiring, but there is something beyond Harvey that requires a different kind of courage.
I’m talking about the courage to look at evidence and take action. Action that might help all our children and grandchildren avoid such a horrendous disaster. Action that will cost less than the $100 billion to $200 billion it will take to heal the flood wounds. But it is action that doesn’t have the dramatic immediacy as piloting your boat to save a neighbor.
Yes, I’m talking about climate change. I am a climate scientist and a geologist. I am also a mother. It breaks my heart to see what happened to Houston, especially because it didn’t have to happen. What happens when you put a pot of water on the stove and turn the heat high? It takes a while for the heat energy to move through the water and the water to boil. We are doing this to our atmosphere. Every second the energy from the accumulated greenhouse gases add the equivalent of four Hiroshima bombs of energy to the atmosphere. The added heat energy has consequences that we can observe.
Or, imagine, as a parent, that your child had difficulty holding up her head, was slow to crawl, and by age two didn’t speak. How long would you wait to identify the problem, to take action, to seek help? If you waited long enough, perhaps your grown child might not be able to function on her own. Early intervention might have provided the skills for an independent life. There is no perhaps about climate change. It is happening and we need the early intervention now.
All of our children are facing the impacts of climate change. Physics shows that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and a warmer ocean can provide that moisture. Under the right circumstances, this moisture is released. We have seen those circumstances. Not just in the Gulf Coast, but also in the Northeast. Irene, 2011, cost 47 lives and $15.6 billion in damage; Sandy, 2012, cost 159 lives and $65 billion in damage. This year, more than 1,200 people in Southeast Asia died as a result of flooding. Flooding is a humanitarian problem. It is a global problem. It is not insurmountable. But everyone needs the courage to act and act soon to reduce climate change. Imagine what the billions of dollars in disaster relief could do towards reducing greenhouse gases.
I’m not a foreigner to Texas. I worked in Central Texas for years. My sister lives in Dallas. Many of my friends and colleagues work for oil companies and live in Texas. There is so much I like about Texas, and Harvey has shown that side of Texas. Most Texans (70 percent) know that climate change is happening, and even before Harvey, more than half thought they were personally affected. This isn’t surprising; climate models predict that in a warming world, Texas will suffer more than most states. Yet, much of the reticence to act to reduce the impact of climate change comes from Texas’ elected officials in Washington.
Three years ago, I attended a Congressional hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, chaired by a Texan, Lamar Smith. He thinks we should be celebrating the warming effects of climate change such as the open Arctic seaway that will increase the rate of warming. There I learned that Rep. Steve Stockman did not understand the difference in impact on sea-level rise between ice in water melting (no impact) and ice melting on land (raising sea level). U.S.Sen. Ted Cruz, chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness, considers climate change pseudoscience. Texans, who have now experienced a horrendous climate disaster, can lead the way by electing officials who will reduce the causes of climate change, greenhouse gases.
Most Houstonians do not have flood insurance. Neither do I. An important kind of flood insurance can’t be bought with money. It is bought with every American’s action to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they produce. This can be done, but it will take the courage to recognize what is happening and to act and act now.