Mercury News Editorial: Climate change at crisis level
sduford on Dec 26 2006 at 11:37 pm | Filed under: Politics
Everyone, public and private, must act to avoid a catastrophe
(Source: Mercury News Editorial)
Global warming is the greatest environmental threat that humanity has ever faced.
Caused mainly by the unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by automobiles and industries, the rise in temperature is already starting to melt the polar ice caps and disrupt weather patterns.
The potential consequences for California are dire. At current rates of warming, state researchers project that the sea level will rise as much as three feet by the end of the century, flooding many low-lying areas and tainting important sources of fresh water like the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. Higher temperatures will drastically shrink the Sierra snowpack that stores much of our water. They will increase smog, boost the risk of wildfires and upset California’s vital agricultural industries.
The United States produces about one-fourth of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, yet we’re the only major nation that officially denies there’s a problem. This is the year for all of us — government, business, individuals — to aggressively attack global warming.
California already is in the vanguard. Last year lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger passed a landmark law to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by about 25 percent by 2020. Although the details remain to be worked out, including how to implement an emissions trading scheme, the structure is in place for positive change. Northeastern states are implementing similar initiatives, and others may follow suit.
California is also leading the nation by providing incentives for drivers to purchase hybrids and by creatively using clean-air laws to force automakers to boost average vehicle fuel economy.
Sadly, the Bush-Cheney administration, loyal lackey of the energy industry, has consistently opposed any national efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The best we can probably hope for from the Roughneck-in-Chief is more funding for alternative energy research and added incentives for purchasing hybrid cars.
That puts the pressure on Congress — particularly California Sen. Barbara Boxer, the new chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Congress needs to pass sensible and veto-proof legislation to reduce U.S. production of greenhouse gases.
The Supreme Court should also strike a blow for planetary sanity by backing the dozen states that have sued the Environmental Protection Agency to force regulators to treat carbon dioxide as a pollutant. If the court doesn’t step up, Congress will need to dictate regulations.
Here in Silicon Valley, venture capitalists like John Doerr are doing their part by investing billions of dollars in alternative energy start-ups. Computer and chip makers are creating more power-efficient devices. And local business leaders are trying to cut costs and streamline the permit process for solar power.
There’s also a lot we can do as individuals: dial down the heat and air conditioning, drive a fuel-efficient car, carpool, recycle, turn off unused lights and electronic devices. Most of all, we need to keep the pressure on our elected leaders to act.