A Climate of Crisis

Depending on who and what you read, the just-concluded climate summit in Poland was either successful (a unified Europe backing both strong economic stimulus and strong Climate Crisis goals) or not so much ("The conference enabled us to make real progress on every topic," or "There has been disappointingly little progress...")

A little progress (an "interim climate pact" that postpones tough negotiations) might be enough for now, but it won't be once the Obama administration takes office. Science writer Seth Borenstein sets the table: "When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, global warming was a slow-moving environmental problem that was easy to ignore. Now it is a ticking time bomb that President-elect Barack Obama can't avoid.

Since Clinton's inauguration, summer Arctic sea ice has lost the equivalent of Alaska, California and Texas. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred since Clinton's second inauguration. Global warming is accelerating. Time is close to running out, and Obama knows it."

(This is only emphasized by a new report in which scientists say they now have unambiguous evidence that the warming in the Arctic is accelerating.)

Obama not only says he knows it, but his appointments show it. There are some controversies concerning the records and backgrounds of his "Green Team" picks announced this week (Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu as Sec. of Energy, Lisa Jackson at EPA, Carol Browner as White House coordinator, Nancy Sutley to head White House Council on Environmental Quality), but one thing they have in common stands out: they are all passionate about addressing the Climate Crisis.

Another promising sign: though powerful industries will oppose real Climate Crisis and green energy action (even as they advertise to the contrary), there is increasing support in the business sector for strong actions. This is going to be important in getting universal health care, and it will likely be important here. One prominent recent example, according to the Wall Street Journal last month: "More than 130 leading investors, representing assets worth $6.4 trillion, today warned world leaders that any global agreement on climate change must be strong and binding to guarantee necessary financing for global emissions reduction and adaptation efforts, and that the financial crisis should not delay efforts to address rising global temperatures. "

Among other measures, the group is looking for binding global target for reducing greenhouse gases, real participation by developing countries, clear measures to reduce deforestation, and a commitment to prepare for dealing with Climate Crisis effects (the "fix it" or "consequences" part of the crisis, in the Captain's nomenclature.)

The Climate Crisis will be addressed directly, but probably in the first instance through the economic stimulus/recovery packages. When real money and attention starts to flow into energy conservation and particularly into new green energy, some old and inaccurate thinking is going to be corrected. That's a future topic, so watch this space.