Over the weekend, science educator Bill Nye said the abnormal heat that plagued the Eastern Shore and much of the rest of America may be “the new abnormal.” He suggested that heat indexes of more than 100 degrees could become routine in future summers. That is scary. I was miserable last week.
Over the weekend, I told a friend that the Heat Dome was a message that it is time to take climate change more seriously. Yes, I know that the Biden Administration has already devoted billions to climate change, but more needs to be done. And I am also worried that Trump supporters cheer wildly when Trump promises to end measures to hasten the transition to electric cars. Trump wants to pump more oil and mine more coal. That is also scary.
Tomorrow is the first presidential debate. Pundits, including the Spy’s From and Fuller videos, have provided plenty of knowledgeable predictions on what will happen in Atlanta. One thing I have not seen from the pundits is a prediction that climate change will be a major focus of the debate. In reviewing four or five articles while writing this column, I did not see a single reference to climate change.
Dare I say that climate change is more important than all other topics that will be addressed at the debate, including border security, abortion, crime (Trump’s and others), gender politics, and even the economy. Climate change could change our way of life so significantly that it could eclipse all other key issues of our time.
Ridiculous? Climate change can (and will) destroy agriculture, leading to starvation crises abroad. It could flood much of the Eastern Shore and change the ecology of Chesapeake Bay. Climate change could force school districts in much of the U.S. to rebuild or replace their schools with buildings equipped to cope with elevated temperatures between May and mid-October. Millions of Americans will suffer heat-related illnesses, some of them long-term. I could go on.
Climate change deniers will, no doubt, condemn new warnings about climate change as yet another “panic attack” or as a not-too-subtle way to pursue a socialist agenda and take away individual rights. Is the right to drive a gas-guzzling car or truck or otherwise continue to contribute to climate change a Constitutional right? I looked. No such right to destroy the environment is in the Constitution.
Last week’s heat wave should have been a wake-up call to all, but it will prove not to be. It may take three or more additional Heat Domes this summer to convince some of us that something dangerous is going on, something that demands a change in our political priorities, something that needs to be done if we want our children to live in a world not plagued by periods where going outside means risking your health.
I will watch President Biden and Trump duke it out on Thursday. I hope for a civil debate but fear that will not happen. I hope that “takeaways” from the debate will be something other than comments on how senile Biden is and how insane Trump has become. I am not holding my breath for a substantive, civilized debate and a healthy discussion.
As I write this column, I almost forgot to mention Andy Harris, our local champion of the Second Amendment and one of the few members of the House of Representatives to prove his fealty to the Second Amendment by attempting to carry a loaded handgun onto the floor of the House of Representatives. Andy Harris has a lifetime score of two percent from the League of Conservation Voters. He has also been a major beneficiary of political contributions from the oil and gas industry.
Let me state the obvious—if you are worried, even a little, about Climate Change, please know that Congressman Andy Harris is not representing you.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.
William Keppen says
Andy Harris is the beneficiary of votes from hundreds of climate change deniers living in a reliably red congressional district. It seems as though many farmers and watermen are unable or unwilling to recognize the treats that climate change poses to them, their children and grandchildren. Andy fiddles while his district (Rome) burns.
Paul Rybon says
Andy Harris does not fiddle while Rome burns. Among other things, with the revelation that a lot of the problems with low fish and crab propagation has now been shown to be caused by the overabundance of the invasive Blue Catfish, has helped lobby the appropriate federal agencies to help seed a start-up program for exporting and military use of the pesky critters.Already there is a growing business of shipping thousands of pounds of them to markets on the West Coast, keeping a bunch of watermen active and busy.Great news Andy.
Deirdre LaMotte says
If one spends his/her day in a pick up or tracker or boat listening to right wing radio, of course they are ignorant of facts. This is the way they are mind controlled.
trudy wonder says
Thank you for raising this issue. I am stunned and disheartened that neither major candidate is talking about the threat of the climate crisis and it’s nowhere to be found in the public discourse generally. Years ago, Greta Thunberg was getting some attention – good and bad – but at least the topic was being discussed. We should be talking about it at an alarming rate now, and instead, crickets. It’s as if silence will magically make it all disappear. I agree with you that this is the single most critical issue we face as human beings. While we are so distracted with or own political infighting, we stand to take the world and the planet down with us. I weep for the younger generations who won’t have the opportunity I had to enjoy a relatively carefree life. And yes, Andy Harris needs to follow his own advice on term limits and retire from politics.
Wilson Dean says
The scientific evidence of the devastation already being caused by man-made climate change is rock solid. People such as Trump and Governors DeSantis (FL) and Abbott (TX) are telling their followers that climate change is a hoax while pocketing huge sums from the oil industry. In the meantime, their constituents (particularly in
Florida and Texas) are being decimated by increasingly frequent and violent weather trends stemming from climate change. Important to all of us here, add Andy Harris to the list of the willfully ignorant, as Talbot County will not escape this trend.
To those who believe the unsubstantiated, self-serving claims of climate deniers such as Trump and Harris, I can only ask one question. What will you say to your young children and grandchildren about your role in making the planet worse for them than what you inherited? What will they say about you? Probably that you were pathetically too immature to face the reality of climate change and do something about it to make theirs a better life.
John Dean says
Thank you, as always, for a substantive comment.