Let me make this 100% clear. The current round of hurricanes is the direct result of manmade climate change. And denying this fact is politicizing the issue. Not talking about it, ignoring it, not factoring it into the conversation: this is a direct result of political decisions. The scientific consensus is overwhelming. If we had not politicized the issue, we would already be fighting to solve it. Had the bastards in the oil industry not politicized the issue, we would have established a Montreal protocol equivalent for CO2 back in the 90s, and more likely than not, we would have a much cleaner world on its way to climate stability. Had the GOP not politicized the issue, we may very well still be staring at Irma and Harvey, but we would have accepted the science, and Houston would have not built up the prairie, so that Harvey’s impact would not be so terrifying, and Florida would likely be far more hardened than it is.
I am sick and tired of sugar coating and pussyfooting about on this issue, despite what some scientists have suggested. See, I’m a scientist too, I study brains, and I get it: we are generally a conservative bunch. That’s fine and dandy when you are studying something that doesn’t have immediate, deadly, world-ending impact. But when it comes to climate change, that mentality needs to go: we need to get aggressive, and we need to get terrifyingly crystal clear when communicating the matter at hand. Because here’s the thing about climate change: it’s not about being 95% certain, or whatever p-value threshold you want to set. It’s actually much more about the tail risks. When you factor risk, the simplest model is the size of impact multiplied by the probability. The impact of climate change is so massive that even a 5% probability of you being correct necessitates massive action.
Science is not politics. Science is a quest for truth. You go in with some ideas of what possible outcomes your work will lead to, but you do not pick winers a priori. That is called politics, that is called Scott Pruitt and his moronic “Red team” exercise. One side has politicized this issue, while the other side has not. And frankly, I am depressed by that. We should politicize this issue. Every Democrat running in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Texas, and Louisiana should be yelling non-stop about hurricanes and the damage they will and have wrought. Every Democrat running in a farming heavy community should talk about weather patterns, drought, and the change in climate. No, the climate change accepters (I refuse to use the term believers; one no right to pick facts) are far more apolitical about the topic than they should be, in stark contrast to their delusional opponents.
Science is on our side, and believing the science and being pragmatic is a core pillar of what makes America great. Politicizing this issue means ignoring the science and trying to pretend it is not real. Not politicizing this issue means going where the science and the facts leads you, which means de-carbonization, adaptation, and an all out massive research effort — because let’s not delude ourselves, at this point this is the key to saving our planet — at developing active carbon removal technologies. This is all going to become crystal clear in the next 5, 10, or 20 years, because the earth will make it crystal clear. The sooner we get ahead on this issue and adopt it as a core of our platform, and hammer the GOP on it, the better off we will be and the better off our planet will be.
Want a winning message for Democrats, who have been shockingly silent on this? Here you go:
STOP POLITICIZING CLIMATE CHANGE. ACCEPT THE SCIENCE AND ACT.