The public perception of climate change has shifted considerably in recent years from one of significant doubt about the role heat-trapping gases play in global warming to one of general acceptance. Still, there are enough doubters extant to challenge any major effort to reduce the emissions blamed for the phenomenon. A report released by the National Research Council on Thursday makes a persuasive argument that continued reluctance to address the issue exposes current and future generations to considerable risk.
The report, “America’s Climate Choice,” was requested by Congress in 2008 when Democrats were in the majority. The mission was to develop “action-oriented advice” on how the United States should react to the possible consequences of climate change. The report was prepared by a group that included scientists, engineers, economists and businessmen from diverse backgrounds. The goal, which seems to have been met, was to provide sound, fact-based information in a manner free of the partisan taint that for too long clouded any investigation or discussion of climate change.
‘Pressing’ need
The report’s conclusion is straightforward. Global warming, it concludes, is real, and its effects are already apparent. Moreover, there is what the group uniformly agreed was a “pressing” need for new policies at the national level to limit emissions of the harmful gases, especially carbon monoxide, the primary greenhouse gas. The initial political response to the report and the advice it proffers, unfortunately, was mixed. That’s hardly a surprise given the deep political divisions on the topic in Washington.
Despite growing, indeed overwhelming proof that climate change is happening and that it is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, there are those who continue to challenge the science that provides and supports such evidence. That’s the view of many of the Republicans who hold the majority in the U.S. House. In addition to those who doubt the science, there are others, including some Democrats, who accept the fact of climate change, but are reluctant to address it through policy and legislative changes because they fear either or both would hurt a fragile economy through increases in already high energy prices. Those beliefs are short-sighted.