Opinion

Trump ignoring feds’ own science

The National Climate Assessment undercuts the Trump administration on climate change. So where is the administration getting its information? Shown is the the coal-fired Plant Scherer in Juliette, Ga., a top carbon dioxide emitter in the U.S. less The National Climate Assessment undercuts the Trump administration on climate change. So where is the administration getting its information? Shown is the the coal-fired Plant Scherer in Juliette, Ga., a top ... more Photo: Branden Camp /Associated Press Photo: Branden Camp /Associated Press Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Trump ignoring feds’ own science 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

By now, the warnings are all too familiar.

A rapidly warming planet. The cause almost certainly human activity. Rising sea levels and coastal flooding. Extreme weather leading to drought, famine and wildfires. A foreboding sense that in failing to curb carbon emissions, we are flirting with calamity.

But amid the steady beat of climate warnings, the National Climate Assessment stands out for a variety of reasons.

First, it is the gold standard for such reports. The National Climate Assessment is mandated every four years and is the product of contributions from scientists across 13 federal agencies. It is arguably the most comprehensive report on climate change in the world, and it undergoes exhaustive peer review.

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Second, it directly undercuts the policies of President Donald Trump and many others in his administration. Trump has derided the link between human activity and climate change as a hoax. Others in his administration, notably Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, have openly questioned the link between carbon emissions and climate change. The administration is openly promoting coal and other fossil fuels — key contributors to climate change — and the U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement.

And yet there is no denying the National Climate Assessment’s stark conclusion about our role in Earth’s warming.

“It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century,” the report says. “For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence.”

This prompts the question: Where are the president and his Cabinet members getting their information?

Global average temperatures have increased 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 115 years, the report says. Without major reductions in carbon emissions — the power plants we use, the cars we drive, the air conditioning in our homes and offices — the average global temperature could skyrocket by the end of the century, the report warns.

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The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mirrors levels not seen in 3 million years, “when both the global average temperature and sea level were significantly higher than today.”

The warmer the Earth becomes, the closer we get to irreversible changes. Loss of Arctic ice. Warmer, more acidic oceans. Sea levels rising multiple feet by the end of the century.

The science of climate change can make the eyes glaze over — the charts, the dry language and the number soup — but this is an intrinsically human issue, caused by humans and affecting human lives in the form of coastal flooding, extreme weather, drought and famine.

And it will have potentially profound effects on future generations. Our young children and their children will live with the policy decisions we make today.

The United States, which is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon, is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.

We are the only country in the world not participating in the accord. The other holdouts, Nicaragua and war-torn Syria, have signed on.

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We stand alone. It’s not a choice informed by science.

That’s a tough one to explain to our children and grandchildren.