The world changes constantly, both politically and our climate. There are obviously differences of opinion politically. These are useful and necessary, regardless of your politics.
But on scientific matters, we depend on experts who have deeply studied a subject, whose findings have been checked and rechecked by other experts, and proven out as time and more information come along.
In the matter of global warming, the scientific evidence is overwhelming that the main cause is the increase in CO2 due to fossil fuel burning. More than 95 percent of experts in this field agree, and their expertise is what we base our collective action on.
While there are a few citizens who, for their own reasons, deny this, they are incorrect and risk severe damage to the world we all must live in. If they only harmed their personal slice of the world, like in politics, they would be welcome to their own opinions. But they harm the world of all of us, and in so doing put our children’s lives in future danger.
Like the story of someone who doesn’t believe in gravity, and jumps off a roof to prove it, they still go splat. Denying planetary warming doesn’t make it go away, and the result will be that we all go splat.
We’ve been digging up “dead dinosaurs” and injecting them into the atmosphere—when burning coal, oil, and gas—for almost 200 years. Common sense demands there must be some effect from this: as with everything else on Earth, when you do a bunch of something, something else is affected.
Some ask if a little extra CO2 might be beneficial. Fair question, but as scientists have done the investigations needed, it has become very clear that we are in deep doo-doo with difficult decisions to make.
We have an opportunity of incredible proportions. Building railroads, freeways, the internet, and the space program all led to huge increases in jobs and wealth. Now we should become world leaders in the technology needed to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
We need visionary leaders, not old-school deniers, to make this happen. The jobs, jobs, jobs this can create would be a huge economic boost, and we could show the world how California can lead and be proud of the world we leave to our children.
And of course, there is one more upside: We won’t go splat.
Dan Cook
Templeton
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 7, 2019.
Great post.
For a guy that likes science, he doesn’t know much about it. Dinosaurs have nothing to do with the formation of Crude oil and natural gas, do a little scientific research Dan. I am more worried about the repeat of the event that wiped out the Dinosaurs and in CA the slippage of The San Andreas Fault, which will kill a million people in 1 day. Both of these event will repeat.