A renewed call for climate action

March 2, 2010 | Global Warming

In recent months, many have been preparing the eulogy for climate legislation in the U.S. Senate. Especially in the wake of a Massachusetts election that saw Democrats slip below the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, there has been little hope of late for a meaningful climate bill. As legislation has stalled, climate skeptics have stepped up their attacks on the science of climate change and have worked feverishly to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases.

The diminishing hopes of a climate bill spell trouble for the future of the nation’s freshwater resources. Rising temperatures, and more frequent and severe floods and droughts will fundamentally alter our rivers and the communities that rely on them.

Events of the last week, however, have provided some glimmers of hope for a climate bill. Last week, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Senator Kerry to finish the climate bill he has been working on with Senators Graham and Lieberman as soon as possible, which Senator Kerry promised to do.

Former Vice President Al Gore stepped into the fray Sunday with a well-timed opinion piece in the New York Times. Mr. Gore, often derided by skeptics for his climate change advocacy, makes a strong argument in favor of reducing carbon pollution in a way that cuts through the misinformation and attacks on climate science that have dominated the headlines.

Mr. Gore rightly notes that slip-ups by climate scientists at the IPCC and universities do not undermine the larger scientific consensus on climate change. He offers a nuanced explanation for the lack of progress to control emissions, from the increase in politicized news coverage and anti-government sentiment to entrenched economic interests and political paralysis in the U.S. and abroad. It offers a clear and compelling explanation for the success of the forces that are working to block action on climate change. But it also emphasizes why we must redouble our efforts to address what Mr. Gore calls an “existential threat”.

Mr. Gore makes clear that climate change isn’t something he wants to happen, but is rather something that we cannot ignore. If only it were all a hoax:

“We would no longer have to worry that our grandchildren would one day look back on us as a criminal generation that had selfishly and blithely ignored clear warnings that their fate was in our hands. We could instead celebrate the naysayers who had doggedly persisted in proving that every major National Academy of Sciences report on climate change had simply made a huge mistake.”

And while Gore’s plea likely won’t change the minds of those firmly opposed to action on climate change and maybe not even those on the fence, it offers a clear and compelling message to those of us that believe we must take rapid steps to confront this issue.

There’s no excuse for stopping now. The future of our rivers and our communities rests in the balance.

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