Citizens' Climate Lobby: The price of citizenship is participation

I’m a member of the Holland Area Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. So, no surprise, I’m concerned about the changing climate. I’ve been around long enough to have witnessed the evolving narrative. Remember global warming? When that image failed to capture the whole picture, conversation shifted to climate change. As the negative evidence for changing climate accumulated, the notion of climate crisis emerged.

Although it may be of no great comfort to those who lost everything in the wildfire that destroyed Paradise, California, those who died in the 2006 heat wave, or those rendered homeless by Hurricane Katrina, the accumulating evidence is a vindication of the predictions made by climate scientists some 30 years ago.

In fact, it now appears that in their strict employment of the scientific method and its commitment to statistical analysis, scientists have, in effect, been pulling their punches. The negative climate events they forecast are materializing far sooner than they thought possible. The storms of our grandchildren are now our storms; hence the framing of the climate crisis.

The strength of climate science is its capacity to explain how a global system works and can be expected to behave when subject to change factors. The weakness of climate science is its inability to forecast future events with precision. For instance, when will the last glacier in Glacier National Park melt away? You might want to kick a few dollars into an office pool and take your best guess.

Whereas climate science may be deficient in creating timelines, it’s really good at establishing trendlines. Expect this trendline for the Great Lakes Basin: more and heavier rainfall, fewer winter days under 32°F, as many as 60 more days of 90°F, more winter rain, and less summer rain. That’s going to be a tough scenario for Michigan agriculture. Just as concerning, this trendline will be a challenge for the utility companies that have to operate in an atmosphere that stresses transmission equipment.

The climate crisis discussion evokes asymmetric reactions. For some despair and feelings of doom predominate. Anecdotally, I’m hearing that many young people are planning to forego parenthood; they don’t want to bring children into this kind of world. Denial is still the preferred option for many, witness the pronouncement of “climate hoax” recently by one of our presidential candidates. Influenced by the disinformation campaigns of large vested interests, many others are simply confused and unsure of what to do.

It’s important to recognize that a trendline is not a guarantee. It’s just an indicator. Alter the factors that are driving a system’s change and you redirect the trend. Basic climate science tells us that greenhouse gasses (GHG) in the atmosphere trap heat and that adding even more GHG will trap even more heat. Unchecked, the continued emission of GHG will lead to a world that may be uninhabitable for human beings.

The good news is that we already have all the tools and technology we need in order to buck this trend. Because we know what’s coming and have the capacity to respond, the question isn’t one of how but whether or not we choose to implement the solutions.

At Citizens’ Climate Lobby, we’ve identified four arenas of response that need our attention: tax policy which incentivizes virtuous decision-making, electrification and energy efficiency, forestry and nature-based solutions, and permitting reform which enables accelerated deployment of alternative energy technology.

Since at least the end of the 16th century, the Western world has embraced this old proverb: "Forewarned is forearmed.” For us in the 21st century, the old proverb is still relevant. It’s time to participate and to speak out.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a world-class climate scientist, but she doesn’t overwhelm people with science. Her main instruction is to talk about it. If we meet the challenge, it will only be because we met it together. And, we’ll only be together if you speak out and build a common resolution to act.

I’m a member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Don’t undervalue that word: "citizen." Each of us has the blessing of being a citizen of this country and the freedoms that constitutional government secures. But freedom isn’t free. The price of citizenship is participation. The kind of public policy that we need in order to resolve the climate crisis requires that you speak out and demand it.

— Peter Boogaart is a founding member of the Citizens' Climate Lobby Holland chapter.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Citizens' Climate Lobby: The price of citizenship is participation