An organization I hold in high regard has made a list of "ten awesome things Obama can do" in his second term. First on the list is "fight climate change." I endorse and have therefore adopted all ten of these goals, but I won't post the list here nor will I provide a link because today I want to focus on this first item, working to prevent and reverse climate change.
Based on the miniscule attention climate change received during the campaign, we might think it is not a controversial topic. To the contrary, both candidates avoided it precisely because it is such a political hot potato. But should it be so controversial? If intelligent, well-meaning people examine the evidence together and have a civil dialog about the pros and cons of the measures involved, should we not be able to arrive at effective solutions? Maybe that is naïve; I hope not.
As most of you know, I've put a lot of effort into examining this issue, and I believe the scientific evidence is clear that climate change is a real phenomenon and that it is primarily caused by human use of fossil fuels. I am open to exploring new evidence and other viewpoints always, but the remainder of this posting is based on the premise that this statement is accurate (subject to refutation).
If we are indeed the cause of real climate change, what should the President do about it in his second term? What can he do?
- Promote fair evaluation of scientific evidence in climate change discussions.
- Work to end fossil fuel subsidies.
- Help drive through a fair, and binding climate treaty.
- Consider climate change in evaluating the environmental impact of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
- Promote the clean sources of renewable energy.
These are a few ideas off the top of my head. I've not done a very good job of setting this up to be an open conversation, but eventually that is what I am hoping for.
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