New Ground: Small Steps to a Sustainable Environment

Climate change: Real or Not!

Every day in the paper, on T.V., or on the radio I hear people attacking climate science and misleading the public about global warming. Unfortunately, people are listening to them and believing them. A recent poll found that almost 10 percent fewer Americans believe global warming is happening than just a year ago!

Corporations, front groups, and climate deniers who oppose critical efforts to curb global warming are waging an all-out war on science. We can fight back with the facts. Facts like these that show, without a doubt, that we must act now to rein in global warming pollution:

• The first 10 years of this century have been the warmest decade on record.
• Sea ice in the Arctic melted to its third-lowest area ever measured last summer.
• Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are currently the highest they have been in at least 800,000 years.
• Worldwide, ocean temperatures last summer were hotter than ever previously recorded.

If global warming emissions continue to grow unabated, taxpayers could be saddled with hundreds of billions of dollars in damages—from flooding and storm damage to health care costs and agricultural losses.

We need to work to reduce U.S. global warming pollution by:

1. Increasing the nation’s use of clean, renewable energy and decreasing its use of dirty fossil fuels like coal.
2. Ensuring automakers meet new emission reduction and fuel economy standards and provide consumers with cleaner car options.
3. Advocating for sustainable agricultural practices that protect our air, water, and soil, and help reduce global warming emissions.

Just think about this. Suppose there is no global climate change, doing all of the above would make this planet a better place to live for our children, grandchildren and beyond. Yet, suppose there IS global climate change going on with all its incumbent weather changes (super snow storms, super hurricanes, rising sea levels, turning fertile agricultural lands into deserts, weather extremes of biblical proportions)… suppose it really is happening—wouldn’t it be better to error on the good side and quit fighting the facts?

About the Author: Doug Patton is a semi-retired (petroleum engineer) who worked in the international oil & gas industry for 40 years. He has lived and worked (at least briefly) in 32 countries.