Climate Prognosis
For the past few days I have been pacing the marble of Capitol Hill. And while I know I was pacing the hallowed halls of Congress, I felt more like an anxious loved one pacing the hospital corridors awaiting the doctor's prognosis. An odd metaphor perhaps but allow me to explain...
Our nation, or rather our world, is becoming increasingly ill. Gas prices are strangling thousands of Americans, especially those living in rural communities. Desertification and soaring food prices are starving the horn of Africa. Air pollution in Beijing is smothering its citizens (and soon our world's Olympians). The changing climate is literally threatening the survival of thousands of species, including humans. We can already see these tragic effects in bleached coral reefs, disappearing honeybees, and malaria spreading to mountain heights in Colombia. These are just some of the early warning signs of climate change that have brought me to the metaphorical hospital today. And what, you may ask, did the doctors recommend?
I went to the Hill with both an interfaith coalition as well as a coalition of national Jewish organizations to talk with the 'climate doctors' - the climate and energy public policy experts - in the hope of hearing some assuring words. "We have the best medicine available, let's begin treatment right away." Even, "We're not sure it's serious but let's take precautions and start you on meds immediately" would have been a welcomed answer. Instead, the first - the lead - doctor (climate policy hill staffer) I spoke to did not seem to believe aggressive, science based, action was immediately necessary. Instead, symbolic treatment efforts will be made, slowly. And so, as one must always do when facing a serious ailment, I got a second, third, sixth opinion. All six opinions were resolutely discouraging. The prognosis: no strong climate legislation will be seeing the light of day on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Though there are many members of the House who are stellar advocates for climate issues, the vast majority are unwilling to commit to scientifically necessary reductions in US carbon emissions. As each meeting, and each hour, passed by I became increasingly nervous (the kind of nervous you can only experience in a hospital) about what a lack of climate action would mean for impoverished communities both at home and abroad. Can we condemn low income Americans to unaffordable energy bills because we refuse to mandate energy conservation policies? Can we shamelessly destroy bio-diversity and the native habitats of polar bears, black tail prairie dogs, or spotted owls because we'd rather reprocess those lands for our own suburban sprawl or drilling desires? Can we continue to pump millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere intensifying climate change and food and water competition in least developed nations? Where is the justice is that?
No doctor would sit idly by while his or her patient bleeds. No, they are bound to an oath to treat each individual to the best of their ability. Included in the modern Hippocratic Oath is the statement, "I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure." Shouldn't Congress have the same mandate to act expeditiously to save lives that we know to be jeopardized by unmitigated climate change? To me, that is the prudent course. But until the prognosis on climate change improves under the direction of diverse congressional leaders, I will continue to pace the halls of congress fraught with hospital anxiety.
I went to the Hill with both an interfaith coalition as well as a coalition of national Jewish organizations to talk with the 'climate doctors' - the climate and energy public policy experts - in the hope of hearing some assuring words. "We have the best medicine available, let's begin treatment right away." Even, "We're not sure it's serious but let's take precautions and start you on meds immediately" would have been a welcomed answer. Instead, the first - the lead - doctor (climate policy hill staffer) I spoke to did not seem to believe aggressive, science based, action was immediately necessary. Instead, symbolic treatment efforts will be made, slowly. And so, as one must always do when facing a serious ailment, I got a second, third, sixth opinion. All six opinions were resolutely discouraging. The prognosis: no strong climate legislation will be seeing the light of day on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Though there are many members of the House who are stellar advocates for climate issues, the vast majority are unwilling to commit to scientifically necessary reductions in US carbon emissions. As each meeting, and each hour, passed by I became increasingly nervous (the kind of nervous you can only experience in a hospital) about what a lack of climate action would mean for impoverished communities both at home and abroad. Can we condemn low income Americans to unaffordable energy bills because we refuse to mandate energy conservation policies? Can we shamelessly destroy bio-diversity and the native habitats of polar bears, black tail prairie dogs, or spotted owls because we'd rather reprocess those lands for our own suburban sprawl or drilling desires? Can we continue to pump millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere intensifying climate change and food and water competition in least developed nations? Where is the justice is that?
No doctor would sit idly by while his or her patient bleeds. No, they are bound to an oath to treat each individual to the best of their ability. Included in the modern Hippocratic Oath is the statement, "I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure." Shouldn't Congress have the same mandate to act expeditiously to save lives that we know to be jeopardized by unmitigated climate change? To me, that is the prudent course. But until the prognosis on climate change improves under the direction of diverse congressional leaders, I will continue to pace the halls of congress fraught with hospital anxiety.