The more time passes, the more convinced I become that we need to act fast to protect our earth from the Rep0ublican war on science. Unless we remove Republicans from control of the House and Senate, and keep them out of the White House, the next generation will inherit a poisoned earth. Paul Krugman appears to agree.
Future historians — if there are any future historians — will almost surely say that the most important thing happening in the world during December 2015 was the climate talks in Paris. True, nothing agreed to in Paris will be enough, by itself, to solve the problem of global warming. But the talks could mark a turning point, the beginning of the kind of international action needed to avert catastrophe.
Then again, they might not; we may be doomed. And if we are, you know who will be responsible: the Republican Party.
O.K., I know the reaction of many readers: How partisan! How over the top! But what I said is, in fact, the obvious truth. And the inability of our news media, our pundits and our political establishment in general to face up to that truth is an important contributing factor to the danger we face.
Anyone who follows U.S. political debates on the environment knows that Republican politicians overwhelmingly oppose any action to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, and that the great majority reject the scientific consensus on climate change. Last year PolitiFact could find only eight Republicans in Congress, out of 278 in the caucus, who had made on-the-record comments accepting the reality of man-made global warming. And most of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination are solidly in the anti-science camp…
…More important, probably, is the denial inherent in the conventions of political journalism, which say that you must always portray the parties as symmetric — that any report on extreme positions taken by one side must be framed in a way that makes it sound as if both sides do it. We saw this on budget issues, where some self-proclaimed centrist commentators, while criticizing Republicans for their absolute refusal to consider tax hikes, also made a point of criticizing President Obama for opposing spending cuts that he actually supported. My guess is that climate disputes will receive the same treatment.
But I hope I’m wrong, and I’d urge everyone outside the climate-denial bubble to frankly acknowledge the awesome, terrifying reality. We’re looking at a party that has turned its back on science at a time when doing so puts the very future of civilization at risk. That’s the truth, and it needs to be faced head-on.
Inserted from <NY Times>
Which earth shall we pass on?
11 Responses to “Will Republicans Destroy Our Earth?”
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Thanks for this insightful presentation TC.
Well worth the read, and passing this one on.
Thanks, Tom for post.
I don't want to answer that question. The answer appears to me to be too depressing.
In answer to your question: YES, they will. They will no longer be Republicans by the time the earth as we know it has disappeared, but they are the ones that have it's blood on their hands. And they've been trying to wash it off for such a long time already that the skin is coming of the bones.
And then there was Hairball's idiotic comment about Pres. Obama wasting time on global climate issues!
Wow. That is VERY scary!!! If we don't get people out to vote in this election for President, we can basically walk off a cliff somewhere and just keep going!.
Unfrigginbelievable that they want to trash the only EARTH we have!!!
Sorry, but it's extremely hard NOT to be depressed w/ the prospect of ANY of these GOPers landing in the Oval Office.
"EVIL" just does NOT do them justice!
Yes. The GOP/TP/Koch Party are out to dismantle and destroy the EPA so they can go ahead and do their dirty business without any government oversights in place. A prime example is Gov. Walker of Wisconsin is doing just that with the support of the Koch Bros. in the State of Wisconsin.
Sustainability
How Scott Walker Dismantled Wisconsin's Environmental Legacy
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-scott-walker-dismantled-wisconsin-s-environmental-legacy/
Walker Budget Proposal Threatens Wisconsin's Environment, Public Safety, and Economy
http://sierraclub.org/wisconsin/blog/2015/02/walker-budget-proposal-threatens-wisconsins-environment-public-safety-and
Koch Industries
http://polluterwatch.com/koch-industries
Thanks all! Hugs!! Swamped!!!
As I said on another post, the fact that the World Court has just summoned Monsanto to be tried for heinous destruction of the environment in pursuit of profits has me ecstatic! We have something to look forward to my friends! They also look dimly on the bullying of poor farmers worldwide. Cannot WAIT. This is a direct result of activists worldwide and the announcement is coinciding with the Climate Conference for a very good reason.
Executives and shareholders only see profit from the destruction of the earth. The rest of us see the conservation of the earth as the profit.