Two Years of Sitting on Our Hands
I came across an old news story at the Guardian this morning about a suppressed 2004 Pentagon report that predicts in the next 20 years, or 18 years since this report is two years old, climate change will provoke widespread rioting and the use of nuclear threats to defend dwindling food and energy supplies. Other highlights:
Bob Watson, chief scientist for the World Bank, is quoted in the article saying, "Can Bush ignore the Pentagon? It's going be hard to blow off this sort of document. Its hugely embarrassing. After all, Bush's single highest priority is national defence. The Pentagon is no wacko, liberal group, generally speaking it is conservative. If climate change is a threat to national security and the economy, then he has to act. There are two groups the Bush Administration tend to listen to, the oil lobby and the Pentagon."
Well, considering this administration's lack of action on climate change, we know for sure which of those two sources he favors.
- The UK going "Siberian," meaning covered in ice
- Several European cities lost to rising seas
- Climate change is a much bigger threat to global stability than terrorism
Bob Watson, chief scientist for the World Bank, is quoted in the article saying, "Can Bush ignore the Pentagon? It's going be hard to blow off this sort of document. Its hugely embarrassing. After all, Bush's single highest priority is national defence. The Pentagon is no wacko, liberal group, generally speaking it is conservative. If climate change is a threat to national security and the economy, then he has to act. There are two groups the Bush Administration tend to listen to, the oil lobby and the Pentagon."
Well, considering this administration's lack of action on climate change, we know for sure which of those two sources he favors.
Labels: politics
5 Comments:
Un-freakin-believable. Will this administration go down as the WORST ever in our history?
BTW - I posted a comment on your last entry, but it never got up.....What up wit dat?
I thought Al Gore said the climate was WARMING UP, not FREEZING OVER. Which is it? HOT or COLD? UP or DOWN? Guess that depends if you're LEFT or RIGHT.
Maybe nothing is being done because scientists are clueless (or at least argumentative).
I know, it sounds like a paradox, but the reason why they think global warming will bring colder weather to Western Europe is because if the Greenland ice sheet melts, it will disrupt the gulf stream currents in the Atlantic ocean. Those currents have historically acted like a big conveyor belt, bringing cold water south and warm water north, helping to keep temperatures out of the extremes. Without it, Western Europe will grow colder in the winter and equatorial zones will grow warmer.
This is not a political issue of left or right. There is vast scientific consensus that global climate change is an emerging crisis that will affect us all if we don't start acting fast.
I'm so impressed that you know about that conveyor belt thing. Did they explain that in the film?
Connie
Yes, it was really well explained in the film. BTW...it's showing now at the Lynnwood. If you haven't already seen it, I encourage you to go.
Post a Comment
<< Home