climate change – Speak Your Mind

The Governor, The Pope, And The Climate

Yaël Ksander — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 13:00:17 +0000

Indiana Governor Mike Pence recently announced that Indiana would defy President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency regulations to limit carbon emissions from power plants. U.S. per capita emissions are more than twice those of China. Because of Indiana’s massive reliance on coal, its per capita emissions are among the highest in the nation, three times those of New York or California. If Indiana were a nation, it would be the most intensely carbon polluting one in the world.

Will future generations look back at Governor Pence with gratitude for defending the Hoosier way of life — or with dismay for entrenching Indiana on the wrong side of environmental and economic history? The corporate world is changing its attitudes on energy and climate; the religious world more so.

Governor Pence’s announcement came just a few days after Pope Francis issued an Encyclical on climate change. The Pope writes: “Our freedom fades when it is handed over to the blind forces of the unconscious, of immediate needs, of self-interest, and of violence.” “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” In this profound document, the Pope challenges us to understand the climate crisis as an issue of justice between generations, and he reminds us to care for the poor, who will be left homeless and hungry in a climate catastrophe.

Governor Pence would do well to heed the Pope’s admonition.

Sources:

https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/pence-obama-indiana-comply-epa-rules-84002/

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29239194

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions

https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.pdf

Beyond the China Coal Excuse

Yaël Ksander — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 14:00:19 +0000

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that unless we cut carbon emissions soon, we risk taking the planet past an irreversible tipping point with disastrous consequences for food security, for species extinction, for hundreds of millions living near coasts, and for unleashing epidemic disease. The Pentagon recognizes climate change as a preeminent national security threat.

In their November 12 summit, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement committing U.S. to reduce emissions by 28% by 2025 compared to 2005 levels, while China would cap its level of emissions (still far lower per capita) by 2030 and greatly increase its share of renewable energy.

In a forum during recent Congressional campaign, Indiana’s 9th District Congressman Todd Young pledged to work against a carbon tax, which he claimed would put U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage compared with Chinese producers. Obama’s Beijing accord undermines that excuse. Besides, climate advocates had explained to him that their carbon fee-and-dividend proposal includes a tariff penalizing imports from polluting countries. Congressman Young received a major campaign contribution from Solar Sources, Inc., actually a coal mining company.

A 2013 Stanford University poll found that 81% of Americans want the federal government to regulate business emissions of greenhouse gases. Only 21% think it is a good idea to generate electricity from coal.

Hoosiers must work for a sustainable Indiana that moves beyond coal and climate denial.

Sources:

https://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WG2AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/opinion/climate-change-breakthrough-in-beijing.html?ref=opinion

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/world/asia/china-us-xi-obama-apec.html

Wyoming “Leads” The Nation

Yaël Ksander — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 13:00:13 +0000

The New York Times recently reported that the State of Wyoming is the first state in the nation to reject new national standards for the teaching of science. The standards contain material on climate change. One Wyoming lawmaker said he wanted climate change “taught as a theory, not as a fact.” The lawmaker seemed to think that a scientific theory is no more than an opinion and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Scientific theory is not an opinion and it is not a hunch. In science, a theory is a well substantiated explanation confirmed by observation and experimentation. Everyone is entitled to their opinion in matters of taste, such as which flavor of ice cream is best. However, in matters of science or public policy, all opinions are not equal. In these matters, someone’s opinion is subject to the rules of evidence and the rules of logic.

If people oppose, say, the idea of climate change, or evolution, or childhood vaccinations, other people have the right to counter their objections with evidence.
As the late Senator Daniel Moynihan (D-New York) used to say, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinions; they are not entitled to their own facts!”

So, Wyoming leads the nation. The point is, if we follow Wyoming’s lead, I shudder to think where we will end up.

Will Indiana Play Climate Spoiler?

Yaël Ksander — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 16:51:40 +0000

On June 2nd, the Environmental Protection Agency announced regulations to limit carbon dioxide pollution from the nation’s power plants, which are the largest single source of greenhouse gas pollution, accounting for 40% of total emissions. The New York Times reports that other nations, including China, will be studying these regulations to determine the scope of their own programs.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that climate change threatens the world’s food supply, endangering yields of wheat and maize, as well oceanic fish. Scientists recently found the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting, bringing a global rise in sea level that would flood coastal cities around the world and drive mass migration, as well as political conflict.

As a coal state, Indiana produces more carbon dioxide pollution than much more populous states such as New York, Illinois, and California. Indiana’s Congressional delegation protects the coal industry by trying to block carbon regulations. Even Senator Joe Donnelly, who calls climate change “the defining issue of our time,” wrote to President Obama asking for weak E.P.A. regulations on coal.

Indiana would pay a heavy price for being a climate spoiler: in lower crop yields; in storms; in liability as an enraged world held polluters to account; and in drastic adjustments which would be much cheaper if made now.

Pope Francis put it succinctly: “Safeguard Creation. Because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us! Never forget this!” I hope that Senator Donnelly, a Catholic, is listening.

Sources

The Guardian

The New York Times

National Resources Defense Council

The Hill

NBC Chicago

Think Progress