Dear Editor:
The changing climate is attacking us, says environmentalist Bill McKibben. Only mobilization on the scale of WWII will save life as we know it.
That sounds alarming to people who want to believe either there is no problem or that time is on our side. Most people in Cole County will look around and say, "If the climate crisis is so great, why aren't my neighbors and friends alarmed and either taking action or demanding it?" The answer to that question has very little to do with what is actually happening to us.
As the world's monthly temperatures continue to rise, The News Tribune and other media are reporting on the issue with greater frequency. Friends point to a recent AP story in this newspaper (8/23) "A changing climate: As global temperatures rise, U.S. political factions split." It was a fascinating article but rather inconclusive about split causes.
The story clearly pointed out that 15 years ago both political parties talked about climate issues and solutions. Then the facts about the changing climate only got worse yet the Republican Party completely flipped. As an example, the story of a rock solid 6 term Republican representative Bob Inglis was told. Inglis got 100 percent support from the NRA. Yet when he traveled the globe and saw the effects of a warming planet he changed his mind. The 2010 result was he lost his South Carolina seat in a landslide. Some lifelong Republican friends will have nothing to do with him. Inglis says, "They say I abandoned them and went over to the dark side."
The AP story develops the idea that tribalism accounts for the great divide that exists today. If you tell me your position on climate change, I will know your political party and your tribe. This is America's most divided issue. More than immigration or abortion. That's pretty amazing. Yet, the AP story does not really explain how the climate worsened which led to a tribal split.
One answer is that the issue was politicized. The only solution is a non-carbon based energy world. The records are clear that oil plutocrats, David and Charles Koch and others, have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to pollute the media and primary out politicians like Inglis. They focus exclusively on Republicans and a hostile takeover of that party.
There is a war and we are being divided and conquered by greed.