On a world tour to promote climate change awareness, Secretary of State John Kerry didn't mince words about its dangers. Comparing climate change to a weapon of mass destruction, he didn't even entertain the idea that the danger might not be real. The science is in, 97 percent of climate scientists believe climate change to be man-made and 3 percent are paid off by industry to find a different result.
In a speech to students, civic leaders and government officials in Indonesia on Sunday Kerry said, "The science is unequivocal and those who refuse to believe it are simply burying their heads in the sand. We don’t have time for a meeting anywhere of the Flat Earth Society."
His condescension is understandable as the right continuously tries to pretend there is a controversy to debate. But Kerry came into this speech emboldened by a diplomatic win in China. Just after his visit to Beijing on Saturday, the U.S. and China issued a joint statement saying they had agreed on steps to curb greenhouse gases. As the two biggest greenhouse gas producers in the world, this is an important achievement.
Kerry is treating the issue as it should be treated, as fact. There's no point even acknowledging that some don't agree because it's only a distraction. He's right when he says that we shouldn't allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues to compete with scientific facts.
“We simply don’t have time to let a few loud interest groups hijack the climate conversation.”