writeaboutwarming

February 14, 2019 Since the introduction of legislation, the purpose of which is to mitigate climate change and its effects, is almost literally earthshaking, I feel compelled to write about it. Suffice it to say, that's a tall order, because the authors of the resolution "recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal," have taken into account any and all matters caused by or related to climate change. Those authors are Sen. Ed Markey(D-MA), long-time environmental advocate, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), much-vaunted and newly-arrived member of the House of Representatives. Let's start at the beginning: if you'd like to read the 14-page resolution, you will find it at https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=5729033-Green-New-Deal-FINAL . While the innumerable "Whereas's" as well as the outline format can be disconcerting, there's also a lot of real substance to wrap your mind around. For my m...

February 7, 2019 Today is a "first-timer." For the first time, I saw a full page of newspaper articles (in the Vancouver, Wa. Columbian  ) about climate change. They're in a section of the paper called "In the Know." Here's some of what they have to say: - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tells us that between the years 1980 and 2013 - 33 years, for all you math whizzes - our country averaged six disasters a year that cost us at least $1 billion in repairs. In the last five years, since 2019 has just begun, we've averaged more than a dozen such disasters a year. Last year, we endured 14 billion-dollar disasters (remember, $1 billion is the minimum) at a total cost of $91 billion. There were 3 "main events": Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Florence, and the wildfires out here in the West. Sadly, 2017 was far worse. Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma, as well as massive wildfires in the West, cost a total of $306 billi...