To the Editor:
Let’s not. Well, not that you can really.
Climate change isn’t an agenda. Climate change is what is happening to the world right now. It’s not the politicians, the Chinese, or the left-wing crystal-worshipping hippies who have determined this, but scientists.
Experts that have spent many years observing our planet, and the effect that we have had on this planet. These scientists have repeatedly published in peer-reviewed journals about what exactly is climate change, what we can expect to see as a result, and what will happen if we don’t do anything about it.
Recently, the American Meteorological Society (a global leader in the fields of water, weather, and climate sciences – www.ametsoc.org) wrote a letter condemning and correcting US Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s assertion that carbon dioxide doesn’t cause global warming. NASA (www.nasa.org), whose mandate include studying Earth system sciences also takes the position that climate science is real.
These are big names. Globally, thousands of scientists, scientific organizations, and groups all say the same this. Climate change is happening, and we are the leading cause. Even ecological groups are concerned with what is happening to wildlife. The reduction of ice every year on the arctic polar cap is threatening the polar bears. A symbol of pride for Canada, it’s on our Toonie, we even engraved it on our Diamonds, are facing a shortage of food, and hunting grounds due to the lack of ice that is forming during the winter months.
The agenda you speak of isn’t a grand conspiracy put in place to steal jobs & money from hard working citizens, but one very simple. Do something. Climate change is happening, regardless of your misinformed belief or war cry against it.
The agenda proposes to attempt to mitigate and perhaps reverse some of the damage already done, and certainly not make it any worse so that we can continue to prosper on this planet.
I think there are real dangers associated with politicizing this debate. It calls into question the integrity of the over seven million scientists (Source: UNESCO) worldwide in all fields, whether it be meteorological, earth, or even medicine, chemists, biologists, physicists. Once you begin to question the scientific conclusions that keep coming back again and again with the conclusion that it is happening, you open the door to politicize and ignore science in very important fields.
We’ve seen evidence of this elsewhere, such as the anti-vaxx movement. Despite that the 1 study has been withdrawn, the scientist stripped of his credentials, and jailed, they are still able to influence thousands of parents to disregard the advice of doctors, and we are now seeing a resurgence in measles, and whooping cough. Diseases that were about to go the way of small pox, have returned and now politicians, and school administrators are forced to pass legislations and policies to protect children who rely on herd immunity from contracting a preventable disease.
Not to mention the difficulty for our teachers to educate today’s connected youth in scientific sound principles. These are the ones that get our children interested in Science and help nurture that passion so that they may choose a scientific career, but you also put into question their integrity and respect in the classroom. If a child can read or listen about various conspiracy theories being given credence by journalists and fringe media, they are then empowered to ignore the scientific principles that we attempt to instill upon them and outright accuse a teacher of lying or pandering to some agenda. The teacher will fail to connect to students so they can truly understand what science is at its fundamental level.
Combating climate change also will have a positive affect on our economic region. Scientists warn that we will see an increase severe storms and unusual weather patterns, something that could adversely affect our agricultural industry.
The increase in severe storms has a larger chance of producing crop-destroying hail-storm. If not a storm, perhaps too much heat, and multi-year drought. Two feet of snow in July. These are the real dangers of climate change that can impact the residents in the area you purport to inform, and ultimately, are accountable to.
Many have also decried the NDP and Liberal’s attempts to fund initiatives by issuing a Carbon Tax. Many state that the tax will adversely affect oil in our province. We’ve had the tax since January 1st of this year, and in the first quarter of 2017, Alberta has seen a 131 per cent increase in the number of new wells drilled, and 101 per cent increase in the number of overall active wells since the same quarter last year, according to industry figures (source: CBC & Petroleum Services Association of Canada).
The fight against climate science doesn’t mean we must abandon what has made our province prosper, we can choose and successfully reduce our affect on climate change while still maintaining our oil and gas economy. What we can also do is grow our green economy in this province to help us weather difficult economic periods within that economy. In Canada, the number of green jobs has surpassed the number of oil sands jobs. This didn’t happen by eliminating oil, but by promoting and being inviting to investment in other areas as well. Unfortunately, these green jobs are nationally, and not all within Alberta. In the US, green jobs surpass fossil fuels 5-1 (Source: US. Department of Energy). This is where we need to go.
We need to play catch up in that industry. If we do, Alberta has the potential to become a powerful province supported by both oil & gas and green jobs. They are not mutually exclusive. With the number of tech and green companies that are finding the US less hospitable, we need to become known for more than just oil, and we can truly diversify our economy.
Let’s stop making this about someone’s agenda, and make it about science.
Thank you,
Steven L. Moore
Guy, AB