Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumJane Lubchenco: Consequences Of Climate Breakdown "Playing Out In Real Time"
EDIT
This is the third statement on the link between climate change and extreme weather made by a high-level U.S. official in the last week. Speaking about the devastating Colorado wildfires on Monday, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman told the Washington Post that the climate is changing, and these fires are a very strong indicator of that.
And while touring the damage from wildfires this week, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also warned about the influence of climate change on the intensity of fires: You have to look at climate change over a period of years, not just one summer. You could always have one abnormal summer. But when you see one after another after another then you can see, yeah, theres a pattern here.
However, even while officials draw the connection to climate change thus increasing the number of people who say its a problem a poll released earlier this week by the Washington Post and Stanford University shows that the issue has fallen behind local air and water pollution as the most important environmental priority for Americans.
Why the change in priority? Because political leaders particularly President Obama are not talking about the issue enough in America. (Case in point: Lubchencos comments were made in Australia, not in the U.S. And it took a trip to Australia last November for Obama to make strong comments about climate change and hes said almost nothing about the problem directly to Americans since then.)
EDIT
http://grist.org/climate-change/top-u-s-science-official-climate-change-is-having-consequences-in-real-time/
phantom power
(25,966 posts)The future is now.
hatrack
(59,592 posts)Oh pleasepleasepleaseplease!!!
phantom power
(25,966 posts)left is right
(1,665 posts)I cant help but wonder if it had been used rather than "global warming from the beginning if more people might have paid attention. As I see it, global warming didnt seem real important at first because people were still see very cold winters and didnt distinguish between climate and weather