Year 3, Month 3, Day 29: A Bitter Cup

The Logan Herald-Journal (UT) notes a slight change in people’s thinking:

The public debate over global climate change in Cache Valley could be shifting.

Local institutions are clearing up confusion by adopting clear positions on the topic, even making them easily accessible for the public to see. A recent move by Utah State University’s Department of Geology, for instance, shows how global and local organizations are taking a formal stance on the issue. A link on the department’s homepage takes viewers to an official position on global warming.

“There were a lot of inquiries from students, particularly in the large, introductory classes,” says Dave Liddell, geology department head. “The faculty thought it would be useful to highlight our position on the topic.”

Liddell says he and his team of academics strongly support the scientific consensus that climate change is happening.

“The Department of Geology supports the Geological Society of America position paper on Global Warming,” the site reads. “We agree that the Earth’s climate is indeed changing and the changes are due, at least in part, to human activities. This is a critical environmental challenge that will require active study and long-term planning and mitigation.”

The department is not alone in its decision to air its position. The Bridgerland Audubon Society board shared its view. It says rapid physical changes will affect biological systems that will compromise habitat and disrupt wildlife populations that cannot adapt fast enough.

Sent March 23:

While it’s encouraging that institutions are working to “clarify their positions” on climate change, the fact remains that in a halfway sane world, such a concept would be recognized as an absurdity. One might as well require institutions to “clarify” their positions on the three Laws of Thermodynamics. But because our national cup of crazy is more full than empty, the factuality of global warming is now the basis of a “controversy.”

How did that happen?

The world’s climate scientists overwhelmingly agree on the basic facts: the greenhouse effect exists; it is exacerbated by human CO2 emissions; the impact of this on Earthly life and human civilization is going to be significant. The so-called “controversy” is the production of people and organizations heavily in the thrall of big oil and coal companies which anticipate reduced profits should our country move to an energy economy based on sustainability.

At a time when we should be working both to prepare for the problems of the climate crisis and to mitigate its worst effects, time wasted is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Warren Senders