Last Friday, NASA and NOAA released a?report revealing that 2014 was the hottest year on record. Using tree rings and ice cores, University of Illinois scientist Don Wuebbles calculated that it could be the hottest in two millennia.
As counselor to the International Panel on Climate Change, Wuebbles contributed to 97 percent of scientific journals that support the existence of global warming. Conversely, a?Pew Research poll revealed that two-fifths of Americans still deny it, and only 28 percent of Americans list it as a priority. Conservative mouthpieces work overtime to assert that global warming is a hoax, and that environmentally-conscious projects are a drain to the economy. They push ahead for the Keystone XL pipeline project, which they assert will create ?tens of thousands of jobs.?? In reality, the project will only create 3,900 positions a year, leaving behind no more than 35 full time positions and 15 temporary ones.
Republicans like Ed Gillespie incorrectly cite a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study, affirming that CO2 regulations would kill 244,000 jobs a year, and will raise energy costs $1,200 for a family of four. In truth, the conditions studied differ substantially from what the EPA actually plans to enforce, and are mostly irrelevant.
Another prominent article claimed that the EPA’s CO2 regulations will even force millions to “endure lower quality of life.” On top of not being able to pay rent or save for college, Americans will be forced to, “suffer from greater stress, worse sleep deprivation, higher incidences of depression and alcohol, drug, spousal and child abuse, and more heart attacks and strokes.”
It even quotes Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who went so far to say:
?A lot of people on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum are going to die.?
How frightening.
Not only are these assumptions and assertions outrageous, they have no basis in fact. A study by Ceres and the University of Massachusetts found that the EPA’s regulations would actually create 1.5 million jobs over the next five years, or nearly 300,000 jobs a year on average. Contrary to what conservatives claim, global warming ? not the EPA ? is the economy killer that the U.S. should be worried about.
University of California, Davis estimated that last year’s droughts drained $2.2 billion from the Californian economy, costing the Central Valley $800 million in lost revenue, and an additional $447 million in well-pumping costs. The rising feed costs forced the meat and dairy industry to lose $203 million in revenue. As a result, 17,100 jobs were dropped from the agricultural payroll.
Changes in weather patterns are also taking a toll. Hurricane Sandy destroyed 1.8 million businesses and homes, costing the U.S. economy $65 billion. The drop in tourism in affected areas caused $1 billion in losses, dissolving 10,000 jobs. Wildfire management expenses already cost the U.S. between $20 and $125 billion a year, and is expected to rise as high as $185 billion by 2054. Even the U.S. military is bracing for impact. In a report released by the Pentagon, the military is developing plans to cope with an ever-rising sea-level, which threatens military bases in places like Virginia.
Yet the conservative viewpoint remains dead-set against environmental regulations. The 114th Congress is poised to repeal the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, a common sense and flexible program to cut carbon pollution from power plants. The new Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, James Inhofe (R-Okla), is outspoken in his belief that global warming is ?outrageous.? Citing Genesis, he is convinced that the climate is not controlled by the action of humans, but by the will of God.
Yet the global temperature continues to rise. Ice shelves continue to melt, and the average global temperature continues to approach the point of no return, which is 2?C (3.6?F) above pre-industrial levels. An investigation by National Geographic projects that that point could be reached by 2040, and? if we are to avoid it, vast amounts of fossil fuels reserves must go untapped. This includes 82 percent of the world’s coal supply (including 92 percent of U.S. reserves), 49 percent of the world’s natural gas, and 33 percent of the world’s supply of oil. The oil in the Arctic? That is completely untouchable. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) units don’t hold much promise either; they only allow a 6 percent increase in the burning of fossil fuels before their emissions impact the environment.
Even though 56 percent of congressional Republicans secretly support EPA regulations,? so long as fossil fuels are the driving economic force for their electorate, they will continue to legislate against the ?War on Coal.? As long as the fossil fuel industry has a profit to be made, and a surplus to buy elections, disinformation will continue to be spread. The clock is ticking, and the mercury is rising. Humanity has become addicted to an unsustainable way of life. If the human race has any hope to defeat climate change, a change in humanity is required. At the moment, the only thing standing in the way of disaster is Obama’s veto pen. That isn’t much, nor is it a viable, long-term solution.
Featured image: via Flickr
