Is it time to sell the beach house?
Scientists at NASA have just landed a space vehicle on our sister planet, Mars, after traveling hundreds of millions of miles on a multi-year journey. Quite an accomplishment by our scientists at NASA.
So too is the accomplishment of another group of our scientists who have just released a 1,700 page report involving 13 of our government agencies and some 300 of our scientists on the subject of global climate change. This report follows another study by the United Nations and both groups are convinced that the problem is serious. We can argue all day whether the warming and change is natural or man made. That is no longer the issue; the issue is what the effects are going to be on our home, planet earth, and our people regardless of the cause.
The evidence is strong that our planet is much warmer than it has been in the recent past. A warmer atmosphere produces melting sea ice, which produces warmer oceans with more energy, which produces more storms 鈥搈ore severe storms. Increased temperatures also contribute to more droughts and this leads to more forest fires.
The politicians would like us to just keep kicking the can down the road. Changing behavior as to where we live and how we deal with our future is going to be painful and costly and we can all see the danger in jumping on a train that is headed into the tunnel of no return.
We do need to begin the discussion and listen to the scientists. Flooded cities and coastal areas are becoming more of the norm. Increased storms will cause more disruptions in our lives. Rising seas are real and look like they will continue. Before we build another development of new homes at the beach or adjacent to the forest, perhaps we should take into consideration just where the sea and the forest may be in another decade or two. There are smart things we can begin to plan for, but they will take a commitment from our leaders and from us. I can see the politicians wanting to make this someone蘑菇视频 problem in future years and not having to deal with it on their watch. The can-kickers will always be with us. People with courage and commitment are always in short supply.
I trust the scientists over the politicians any day. What about you?