As a Western Pennsylvania resident, I witnessed the devastating effects of a heat dome and the pop-up storms that climate scientists have long warned about. The destruction hit close to home, with six of my trees damaged and a magnificent old-growth Pin Oak split and must be removed. We were fortunate.
The impact was not limited to my property-widespread power and cable services were disrupted when thousands of trees were blown down, and a tragic incident occurred when an unsuspecting mountain bicyclist lost his life due to a downed power line in the woods of North Park.
I cringe when reporters suggest that climate change “could” be a factor. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, eyeing a Republican nomination for Vice President, claimed the “rain bomb” that dumped two feet of rain on southern Florida was nothing unusual. Abolishing climate provisions in state laws, DeSantis suggested, “We don’t want our energy policy driven by climate ideology,” Climate denialism has long misled the unsuspecting public.
There’s no denying the overwhelming evidence of human-induced global warming and the alarming fact that pollution is increasing yearly. In 2015, a significant step was taken when 195 nations signed the Paris Agreement, pledging to “hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels” to significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. However, the reality is stark. Last year, the global average near-surface temperature in 2023 was 1.45 °Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline, according to the World Metrology Organization. This underscores the urgency of our situation and the need for immediate action.
Scientists have warned that crossing temperature thresholds trigger non-linear events, including dramatically increased forest fires, methane emissions from thawing tundra, ocean warming, clathrate emissions, and a dramatic decrease in albedo. Nature bats last in climate chaos, and it swings a mean bat.
I have long been concerned about our role in changing the world’s climate system. In an article written for Pennsylvania Forests in the summer of 1979, I warned that climate change was one of the two top threats to our natural world. The late Senator John Heinz read my article and entered it into the Congressional Record. The other threat I warned about was acid rain, which was largely ended when the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments sponsored by Senator John Heinz and Senator Tim Worth from Colorado were implemented. Policy matters.
I served on an industry/environmental climate working group that drafted a “Cap and Trade” proposal fashioned after the successful acid rain law to address climate pollution, which passed the House under Nancy Pelosi’s leadership. By October 10, 2009, Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman had a tri-partisan Senate response to the Waxman-Markey bill. Graham abruptly withdrew when the oil oligopoly initiated a whisper campaign accusing him of being gay, a politically lethal thing for a South Carolina Senator.
I have long wondered why it only took ten years to pass legislation to control acid rain. In comparison, climate pollution has been unregulated for forty-five years since I issued my warning after reviewing the science. There was enough science to act long ago.
It turns out that solid science on the climate crisis dates back to 1890 when, in Pittsburgh, Samuel Langley invented it, and John Brashear built the first bolometer that is still used today to measure radiation intensities. His publication in 1890 of infrared observations at the Allegheny Observatory, coupled with Frank Washington Very’s work in the West. In 1896, Svante Arrhenius made the first calculations and warnings about the greenhouse effect. We have been warned about the climate risks for 128 years.
Global carbon dioxide accumulates while emissions set new high levels despite destructive floods, bigger hurricanes, violent weather events, and explosive, deadly forest fires. Gallup and Pew Research Center have been tracking public opinions on climate change and have witnessed an uptick. Gallop now reports that 62 percent of adults surveyed worry “a great deal” or “a fair amount” about climate change, and 61 percent understand that the planet is warming primarily because of “pollution from human activities.” Pew found that 67 percent of Americans believe the nation should prioritize developing alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar.
While no action to regulate emissions is on the horizon, former President Trump, awash with dark money funding, has asked the fossil fuel industry to give a billion dollars to his campaign, promising to eliminate Biden’s clean energy policies and funding. The time for action is now. Ignoring the threats has profound and deadly consequences. Over a billion people are now dealing with excess heat. When the voters lead, the leaders follow.
Econotes 