According to science, Earth’s atmosphere has reached a carbon dioxide level of 400 parts per million, a greenhouse gas level not seen since the Pleistocene epoch. At the same time, technology is releasing new fossil carbon into the atmosphere at rates never before achievable.
The disconnect between national policy and reality has never been more striking. It’s almost as though America’s leadership believes that ours is the last generation to ever live on Earth!
No question about it: Earth is warming. Alpine glaciers and polar ice caps are melting and the sea level is rising. Within 100 years, Florida’s Everglades will be under water. The last time CO2 levels were this high, the sea level was 30 to 60 feet higher.
So, why do we continue to spend billions of dollars to restore beaches and build sea walls when we should be encouraging substantial drawback from doomed coastal areas? And why do we still have a National Flood Insurance Program that encourages coastal development?
The other side of the disconnect is just as bad. For years we heard nothing but demands to increase domestic energy production. Now, thanks to fracking (another issue of uncertain consequence), we find ourselves with a temporary glut of fossil fuels. But instead of banking this energy for future generations, we ship it away as more profit for Big Oil.
Allowing short-term greed to trump common sense is a disconnect that must be resolved if America is to survive, but it will take real leadership to do it.
— BOB REID