‘Scorched earth’ has new meaning
Pop quiz: What is the relevance of the following?
108. 116. 121. 130.
If you guessed number of free throws Ben Simmons missed in the playoffs, or how many seasons it’ll take the Sixers to make the Finals, nice try.
The answer is all-time high temperatures recently recorded for Seattle, Portland, Western Canada, and Death Valley. In some instances, those highs eclipsed previous records set just days prior.
Across the country, and especially in the West, we are seeing temperature extremes which have some proclaiming that the Climate Change Apocalypse will soon be upon us.
Predictably, many climate change advocates point to record temps as proof that the Earth is warming at breakneck pace, and, if extreme measures aren’t immediately undertaken, the world will plunge into climate chaos. Not so fast.
Some on the right love to say that climate change, as a result of human-generated greenhouse gases, is a hoax perpetrated by the left to gain global dominion in the name of oneworld government.
Yeah, sure it is.
Crazy conspiracies aside, that view misses the point. Even if humans aren’t contributing one iota to global warming, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for cleaner-burning alternatives. If climatic change is cyclical, and we just happen to be in a warming period, the goal should still be to continually improve the quality of air, water, soil and landscape. Too many Republicans
miss the boat by ceding the “environmental” issues to the Left, failing to remember that the greatest conservationist president was the GOP’s Teddy Roosevelt. Striving for sound policies that preserve and improve the environment, in responsible ways that don’t annihilate communities whose livelihoods are reliant on natural resources, is a winning political issue — period.
The most important reason why we need an evenhanded approach to climate change, free of political maneuvering, is that the “experts” have a long history of being spectacularly wrong. In the 1960s and ‘70s, many climatologists were hysterically screaming that “global cooling” (the result of man-made aerosols in the atmosphere reflecting sunlight away from Earth) was hurtling the planet towards a cataclysmic ice age just decades away. Because the Earth would be over ten degrees colder by the year 2000, they predicted, billions would die of starvation due to massive crop failures, and chaos would rule.
Facts matter, but perhaps even more important, so does humility — specifically, the ability of scientists and pols alike to admit that they are/were wrong in some of their hypotheses. The only way to move forward with any credibility is to recognize that science, and by extension political policy, is not perfect — and therefore, it is commendable to change one’s outlook as facts, not hype, evolve.
5) There are a number of common-sense ways we can address climate change and work to reduce emissions.
We can’t physically force sovereign nations to decrease pollution and institute environmental regulations on par with ours, but we can force their hand by leveraging our position as the world’s largest economy. Free and fair-trade sound nice, but we have neither, and that must change. From the threat of tariffs to the elimination of foreign aid and military support, we have the muscle needed to leverage that advantage to level the environmental playing field.
Don’t sign treaties restricting America’s carbon emissions while giving “developing” nations a free pass. In addition to the devastating impact on American jobs, accords such as the Paris and Kyoto agreements are only fingers in the dike. The United States is not the unchecked polluter (such as China and Indonesia are) and becomes “greener” every day, so why penalize Americans for doing the right thing?
Use more natural gas while mandating the safest fracking techniques. America sits atop a virtually limitless supply of gas, which produces a fraction of coal emissions. Likewise, we should be building more nuclear power plants, as they are not only extremely safe, but emit zero emissions. The environmental lobby cannot have it both ways by demanding far fewer emissions, but adamantly opposing clean power sources.
Yes, the Earth is warming. The big question is why. Is it a cyclical phenomenon, or because humans have pumped billions of tons of emissions into the atmosphere? The rational answer is both. So instead of both sides freezing each other out, let’s err on the side of caution by creating innovative solutions to reducing emissions, while protecting American jobs and economic competitiveness.
What a win that would be on the “hottest” hot-button issue of all.