Deborah levine
DL Opinion columns

Hot! and only getting hotter – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Summer has arrived and it’s hot! No surprise here, but we’re in a rare, dangerous heat wave. Correction, it isn’t a heat wave, it’s a heat dome. Tens of millions of people face a level 4 extreme heat risk. That’s the highest level of extreme heat, the deadliest weather-related hazard in America according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA). In the past, we have been fortunate to have access to this report so that we can plan for the effects of climate change. But you can now kiss that access goodbye.

Trump’s administration dumped the scientists working on this report which was mandated by Congress to assess the impacts of climate change. Produced by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) the report synthesizes scientific information on climate change and its effects, from 15 federal agencies. Congress established the USGCRP about 35 years ago through the Global Change Research Act and President George Bush signed it into law. The report is used to design government regulations for green house gas emissions.

Unfortunately, I doubt that the deadly heat will convince Trump to reconsider his position regarding the NCA. Nor will the warnings from 60 leading climate scientists that the Earth could breach the symbolic 1.5C warming limit in as little as three years at the current levels of carbon dioxide emissions. Remember, during his first term, Trump initiated our withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement aiming to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. He said that the agreement was a burden on America’s economy which should concentrate on expanding domestic fossil fuel production.  and roll back environmental regulations. 

Trump occasionally acknowledges the connection between human activity and climate, but legislation should focus is on the dollar. Therefore, legislation must include the roll back of environmental regulations. Part of the strategy of this approach is censoring the language used on government websites, grant proposals, and other communications. For example “climate science” is on the administration’s list of words to limit or avoid. Not exactly a surprise!

Cutting off any promotion of climate action, alternative energy sources, and regulations greatly benefits the fossil fuel industry’s expansion of its power and profits. While encouraging more production of oil, gas, and coal, those cuts mean the elimination of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal support for solar, wind and other clean energy. Supporters call this corporate money-making scheme a taxpayers’ delight and financial investment in our future. 

Critics call this “baking climate denial into U.S. policy” and are more inclined to support those who will suffer than those who’ll make the corporate profits. I’m pretty sure that if you’re not in one of these vulnerable categories, you know lots of people who are: 1. Babies and young children, 2. Overweight people, 3. Adults 65 years old or older, 4. Overdoers during work or exercise 5. Sufferers from heart disease or high blood pressure, 6. Folks taking medications for depression, insomnia or poor circulation. 

In the news this week, there was another worrisome category that caught my attention: pregnant women. We’re all at risk of developing dehydration, heat exhaustion, or heatstroke, but pregnant women are more susceptible. They are prone to preterm birth and having babies with dangerously low birth weights. Hardly an investment in our future!

Unfortunately, claims that climate change is a burden are developing into claims that it doesn’t exist at all. Censorship backs that up but won’t change how climate change can, and will, wreck many lives. It’s time to fight the censorship, set limits on fossil fuels and support alternate energy resources. Take to the internet, lobby legislators …and drink lots of water!   

Editor-in-Chief
Latest posts by Editor-in-Chief (see all)