Climate change panelists urge swift action
In Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, where many of the region’s war veterans are commemorated, people gathered Wednesday to kick- start a battle they believe must be won quickly to mitigate the impact of climate change.
“Climate change is a global threat that will change our lives dramatically, but we can take smart, proactive steps to combat it,” said U. S. Rep. Mike Doyle, DForest Hills, who hosted the town hall- style meeting. “But we must take those steps rapidly to avoid the most dire consequences of climate change.”
Although many in the audience of about 400 appeared to be members of a knowledgeable climate change choir, the meeting was one of the first opportunities for residents of the region to learn more about the issue and potential pathways to address it.
“It’s an important issue and I hope to gain a better understanding of the nuts and bolts of how climate policy will be developed in the U. S.,” said Mike Roth, a doctoral student in the engineering and public policy program at Carnegie Mellon University, before the meeting started.
“It doesn’t seem the current administration is very receptive to cap and trade or a carbon tax — two of the main proposals that have been hopping around. But delay will be costly, and the sooner we act the less costly it will be to address the issue.”
That sense of urgency was a common theme. Mr. Doyle said the U. S. must achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050 and become “carbon negative” after that.
Patricia DeMarco, an author, biologist and member of Forest Hills council, said the globe is on track for 2019 to be the warmest year ever recorded, and climate change is already affecting human health, infrastructure, emergency services and the natural environment. She said it’s costing the nation billions of dollars a year. “It’s real, it’s happening now all over the world and in Western Pennsylvania, too,” she said. “The latest report by U. S. agencies says we need to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. We don’t have time to dilly- dally. We need to reframe the climate change debate, to acknowledge the cost of not acting on climate change is huge.”
There is scientific certainty that the global climate is warming at an unprecedented rate and that the primary cause is human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil, that increases the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other heat- trapping greenhouse gases.
On a warmer planet, growing seasons will be longer in some areas, increasing crops. But most effects will impact human populations negatively.
As temperatures continue to rise, scientists say there will be more droughts and heat waves, more severe storms and stronger hurricanes. Sea levels will rise by 1 to 4 feet by 2100, the Arctic is likely to become ice free in summer and glaciers will melt.
Two panels of experts addressed climate change topics, including how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the workforce needs of a renewable energy economy; the development of technology to mitigate climate change impacts; and government actions at the federal, state and local levels.
Jay Whitacre, director of CMU’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, said hundreds of researchers at CMU and the University of Pittsburgh are working on climate change, but more financial support is needed to get emerging research into the hands of big corporations with the means to implement the new technology.
Ron Gdovic, chief executive officer of WindStax Energy, a 2012 startup that manufactures hybrid wind and solar systems in Pittsburgh, said “new technologies can drive a new economy” in the region.
Ashleigh Deemer, of PennEnvironment, a statewide environmental advocacy organization, said it has been conducting a lobbying effort to educate state legislators about the perils of climate change and the need for quick action to fill the federal void, but she said it’s still “a heavy lift.”
Another recurring topic was economic justice for displaced workers. Jami Bey, a panel moderator and chief executive officer of UrbanKind, said, “People have to see themselves as successful in the new economy.”
In a news release prior to the meeting, a coalition of 11 local organizations announced their support of the meeting, which they hoped would be the first of many to draw attention to and help speed action on the issue.
“[ The meeting] comes at an opportune time, as there is a push from the American people to greater prioritize climate change during the presidential debates, and every day more studies emerge about how little time we have to act as climate change affects our food, air, water, health and supersizes weather events in more dire ways than previously thought,” the coalition stated
The coalition also encouraged other members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to follow Mr. Doyle’s example by holding town halls of their own on climate change.
“While we believe it’s important to broaden the understanding about the severity and widespread impact of climate change,
“We don’t have time to dilly- dally. We need to reframe the climate change debate, to acknowledge the cost of not acting on climate change is huge.” — Patricia DeMarco, author, biologist and Forest Hills councilmember
it’s equally important for our elected officials at all levels of government to transition this knowledge into finally doing something,” the coalition stated. “We will look for further opportunities to hold our decision makers accountable and push them to enact meaningful policies.”
Mr. Doyle said he’s optimistic about enacting a robust climate change policy, but admitted it will require “changing a lot of faces in the Senate and, most importantly, in the White House.”
Art Fleming, a retired ophthalmologist, and his wife, Sharyn, who have 24 grandchildren, left the meeting feeling optimistic.
“It was great to hear people talking about all this stuff and the concerns about climate change,” Mr. Fleming said. “People are involved. I’m hopeful. They’re working on a lot of stuff. I think it will happen eventually. It has to.”