Climate change is here whether you ignore it or not

Date: 8/22/2023

So, how’s your summer going?

The answer, of course, changes from person to person. If you’re a farmer in Hampshire County, your summer might be pretty terrible. Between torrential rains that have caused flooding and destruction of crops to the temperatures that have strained livestock and plants, this has been a challenge to say the least.

Our neighbors to the north, the state of Vermont, have seen towns nearly wiped out due to the rains and flash flooding.

Live in a city? The hottest month on record (July) — to be clear the hottest month since human started recording temperatures — has caused increased electric bills due to using air conditioning more. I just saw a report that temperatures are higher in cities because of the amount of concrete and asphalt.

Commercial fishermen on Cape Cod have learned to adapt to the rising temperatures of the ocean and the fact that it is affecting the kinds of fish they are able to catch. An essay published by the Nature Conservatory in 2020 noted, “‘There are no cod off Cape Cod anymore,’ says Chris McGuire, The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts’ marine program director, articulating a sentiment echoed by Martin and the fishing community. “But fishermen have learned to adapt to that. And so now they’re fishing for other species that are becoming more common in our waters as they move north, or focusing on species that were not previously fished.’”

Now granted, the Pioneer Valley has been in a pocket of relative calm, climate-wise, compared to other areas. We are not living through the dangerous temperatures we are seeing in areas such as Arizona or Texas. We do not have the wildfires of southern California. We are not seeing the destruction caused by weather events such as tornadoes.

Our economy in the agricultural sector is definitely being affected. Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture noted, “For the second year in a row, CISA is encouraging organizations, government agencies, farm and food businesses, school districts and others to sponsor events focused on climate change and farming in Western Massachusetts and farther afield.”

The organization will be stressing this theme Sept. 18-22 during its Climate Change & Farming Week.
And our air quality is being affected by wildfires in Canada.

I’ve been reading positions report from the Heritage Foundation about Project 2025, a comprehensive strategy some conservatives wish to implement if they are in control of the White House.

As Diana Furchgott-Roth wrote in “Restoring America’s Energy Renaissance” on the Heritage Foundation website, “The next Republican administration will surely start using our nation’s abundant resources to provide people with more affordable energy. This means repairing the damage done in the past couple of years and making America a place where energy companies want to do business.

“Rather than encourage energy companies to take advantage of this abundance, the Biden Administration has focused on renewable energy, made with components imported primarily from China. The Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must change course through a new set of policies.”

Essentially, the foundation is supporting a return to American-sourced fossil fuels as a way to have what they would believe are cheaper energy prices and great energy independence. The Foundation does not support the Biden Administration’s emphasis on renewable energy sources.

She wrote, “Numerous [federal] agencies are now slowing down domestic-energy development on the grounds that America is transitioning toward an era when fossil fuels will no longer be needed. This needs to stop.”

More drilling, pipelines and more coal are the center of their plan. According to other reports I’ve read online, this attitude toward energy will be one of the focal points for the next Trump Administration, if there is one.

Nowhere did she mention climate change and how the use of fossil fuel has helped create this mess. I get it. If you ignore the science, then the problem will go away, right?

It’s all about American energy companies making more money. It’s all about the next quarterly report.
This is no longer an issue that would affect my grandchildren in some future down the road. This is the future. Now. We are seeing how things have changed.

Any effort to go back to complete dependence on fossil fuels is sadly, woefully wrong and will prove deadly.

But, hey, I actually want my grandchildren to have a shot at a future. Caring for your kids’ future appears to be clearly a terrible liberal point of view for some and that’s just stupid.

G. Michael Dobbs has worked for Reminder Publishing for 22 years of his nearly 50-year-career in the Western Mass. media scene, and previously served as the executive editor. He has spent his time with the publisher covering local politics, interesting people and events. The opinions expressed within the article are that of the author’s and do not represent the opinions and beliefs of the paper.