By their nature, scientific projections are subject to uncertainties and debate. For those who believe the catastrophic climate change projections are or might be wrong, I ask the following questions:
Should we continue sending billions of dollars out of the country to buy oil from people and governments that hate us?
Should we continue to burn coal, petroleum, and other fossil fuels that emit small particles triggering heart attacks and causing other coronary and respiratory ailments at a cost of at least hundreds of millions of dollars in increased medical expenses?
Should we allow Germany, China, India and a few other countries to become the global leaders in new clean energy technologies, creating highly-skilled and high-paying jobs (not to mention the highest employment rates in their respective histories), while we moan about the loss of good paying jobs in America?
Should we continue to subsidize oil companies that earn record profits and then keep as much of their profits as possible offshore to avoid paying taxes in the US?
Should we continue to waste energy in inefficient homes and vehicles like cartoon characters literally burning dollars?
Should we build renewable energy power plants that will have zero fuel costs in the future? Or should we build traditional power plants that will continue to consume ever-more-expensive fuels? Which option will help us build a competitive economy?
And lest you think I'm avoiding the climate change part of the equation........
What if you're right?
What if the climate change proponents turn out to be Chicken Littles? What terrible things happen if we reduce our dependence on coal and oil, reduce waste in our consumption of energy, reduce our emissions of pollutants, become energy self-sufficient, create new jobs in new technologies, eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending on wars to protect access to oil fields, and become the world leader in renewable technologies that have zero ongoing fuel costs?
What if we do all that and then find out that climate change is not happening? What will we have lost?
Now ask yourselves, what if you're wrong?
What if the majority of climate scientists are correct? What if our children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren have to live (and die) with the effects of climate change feedback loops 50, 100, or 150 years from now. What will you have accomplished with your selfish insistence today that you and you alone know with certainty what the future holds?
Those of us who believe that the RISKS of climate change are real are not suggesting that we have all the answers or that the projections are perfect. But we are confident that diversifying our energy sources will be good for the economy, good for job creation, good for our quality of life, and yes, good for the environment that we and hopefully many long lines of descendants will live in.
John Howley
Orlando, Florida
Should we continue sending billions of dollars out of the country to buy oil from people and governments that hate us?
Should we continue to burn coal, petroleum, and other fossil fuels that emit small particles triggering heart attacks and causing other coronary and respiratory ailments at a cost of at least hundreds of millions of dollars in increased medical expenses?
Should we allow Germany, China, India and a few other countries to become the global leaders in new clean energy technologies, creating highly-skilled and high-paying jobs (not to mention the highest employment rates in their respective histories), while we moan about the loss of good paying jobs in America?
Should we continue to subsidize oil companies that earn record profits and then keep as much of their profits as possible offshore to avoid paying taxes in the US?
Should we continue to waste energy in inefficient homes and vehicles like cartoon characters literally burning dollars?
Should we build renewable energy power plants that will have zero fuel costs in the future? Or should we build traditional power plants that will continue to consume ever-more-expensive fuels? Which option will help us build a competitive economy?
And lest you think I'm avoiding the climate change part of the equation........
What if you're right?
What if the climate change proponents turn out to be Chicken Littles? What terrible things happen if we reduce our dependence on coal and oil, reduce waste in our consumption of energy, reduce our emissions of pollutants, become energy self-sufficient, create new jobs in new technologies, eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending on wars to protect access to oil fields, and become the world leader in renewable technologies that have zero ongoing fuel costs?
What if we do all that and then find out that climate change is not happening? What will we have lost?
Now ask yourselves, what if you're wrong?
What if the majority of climate scientists are correct? What if our children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren have to live (and die) with the effects of climate change feedback loops 50, 100, or 150 years from now. What will you have accomplished with your selfish insistence today that you and you alone know with certainty what the future holds?
Those of us who believe that the RISKS of climate change are real are not suggesting that we have all the answers or that the projections are perfect. But we are confident that diversifying our energy sources will be good for the economy, good for job creation, good for our quality of life, and yes, good for the environment that we and hopefully many long lines of descendants will live in.
John Howley
Orlando, Florida
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