dougs digs: The Politics of Weather

The local weatherman has never been much of a political lightning rod. But these days -- with strong hurricanes striking the Atlantic seaboard earlier than at any time since records were first collected in 1851, and officials in the National Weather Service estimating that more than 200 heat records have been broken in the United States in the past two weeks alone -- the 10 o'clock forecast is turning into a nightly reminder of the heavy cost of letting polluting corporate special interests write our energy and environmental laws.

Extensive new research shows that the impact of climate change is being felt now, not only at the polar ice caps and the coral reefs, but in our hometowns, at our schools and workplaces, by our family and friends. Severe weather occurrences like hurricanes and heat waves already take hundreds of lives and cause millions in damages each year. Increasingly, data suggests that human-induced global warming is making these events more dangerous and extreme than ever.

President Bush and Washington conservatives are doing everything in their power to stop effective action on climate change -- it's time Americans realize the full extent of the damage their helping to cause. To defend its inaction, the White House likes to boast that it at least leads the world in funds spent on climate research. But this is an poor excuse. For all its supposed interest in new climate data, the Bush administration allowed a former Exxon lobbyist with no scientific background to doctor the findings of some of its premiere climate documents, then defended the practice when caught red-handed.

In any case, climate change research is already abundant enough to warrant action -- having taxpayers finance new studies instead of demanding corporate polluters clean up their acts is hardly a solution.

For more information, visit Center for American Progress.

dougs digs

8.02.2005

The Politics of Weather

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