WE MUST TAKE ACTION NOW
It’s early fall and many of us are still talking about what we did this past summer.Have you been to Glacier National Park in Montana? If not, you had better go soon — if you want to see the glaciers. New predictions are that the 25 remaining glaciers will have melted by 2020.My family and I went this summer. I was in awe of the beauty, as well as somberly startled by what we learned.Of the 150 glaciers that existed in 1850, only about 25 remain today in the park. A National Park Service photo display at the Many Glacier Lodge on the park’s east side shows the dramatic change. The display outlines the changes that are occurring and what that means for the park: “As climate changes, both the visible and not-so-visible features of the park will be altered. In just a couple of decades, the view from this spot may look dramatically different. As climate warms, rainfall and snowfall are also likely to change. This will affect soil moisture, runoff and stream flow, as well as landscape disturbance processes such as fire and avalanches. These kind of changes will impact park ecosystems.“Climate plays an important role in determining what flora and fauna exist in a habitat. Every species has a temperature range in which it can thrive. For example, the elevation where trees stop growing, known as treeline, is strongly related to temperature and moisture. As climate warms, more trees will encroach on alpine meadows and treeline will migrate to higher elevations. Changes in the distribution of forests and trees and other vegetation may cause animals to seek higher ground or to migrate north to find suitable habitat.”
Our world is changing around us. The glaciers are dramatic — that was brought home to Des Moines last year by James Balog in a Bucksbaum lecture at Drake University and beautifully photographed in his “Chasing Ice” film, a film both beautiful and sober.
How do we connect melting glaciers in Montana’s Glacier National Park with what we are doing, or not doing, in Iowa to forestall/ prevent/adjust to climate change? The reality is that what happens in one part of our planet affects us all.
Recent news from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a report we must listen to. According to Jaisal Noor, producer with the Real News Network, the Sept. 20 report from climate scientists “declared with 95 percent certainty that climate change is, indeed, manmade.”
So what do concerned Iowans have to say and what are we doing and how can we each get involved?
One promising new group in Iowa is Citizens Climate Lobby. One of its Iowa leaders, Joan Wooters Fumetti, wrote to me: “The sense behind Citizens Climate Lobby is that politicians don’t create, but rather respond to political will. CCL is an energetic, grassroots, nonpartisan organization dedicated to creating the political will for a stable climate as it empowers citizens to grow in their personal and political effectiveness.
“Our focus is a carbon fee and dividend (revenue neutral carbon tax) proposal that has broad support from economists across the political spectrum. It is simple to understand and makes good common sense.
“The CCL approach of civil and respectful dialogue sets it apart from many voices in the climate change debate. In order to solve climate issues we are going to have to learn to live and work together.”
State Sen. Jack Hatch of Des Moines, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, wrote: “Climate change is real, is having a significant effect on our environment and is a major policy challenge for this and coming generations. In Iowa, we can have a positive effect on the carbon emissions that produce harmful greenhouse gases by continuing to build on our strengths in renewable energy, including wind and solar.
“Iowa’s ability to produce 20 percent of our energy from wind is extraordinary and is an example to the rest of the country and the world. We’re moving in the right direction and must continue. The result will be high-wage manufacturing jobs in an emerging industry, which is a net economic gain for our state.
“Over time, we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, including coal. Iowa must have a responsible state government that continually seeks ways to reduce direct carbon emissions at state-owned facilities and works on conservation of energy, including within the state vehicle fleet and in state buildings. New construction should be LEED certified to reduce the total amount of energy consumed over the life of a building.”
Ed Fallon, Des Moines radio talk show host and former candidate for governor and the U.S. House of Representatives, has been at the center of a planned walk across the United States to highlight climate change and what we can do about it.
Prospective marchers need to make their decision soon to get in shape, take care of personal matters andgenerate sponsors. Fallon wrote me: “The march is unprecedented in scope, and the timing could not be better as many committedclimate activists pushto get America to the tipping point where we actually embrace the changes needed.”
The website for the Great March for Climate Action says its goal is to change the heart and mind of the American people, elected leaders and people across the world into acting now to address the climate crisis. The march is scheduled to depart Los Angeles on March 1, 2014, with 1,000 marchers walking nearly 3,000 miles to Washington, D.C., to inspire action to resolve the climate crisis.
State Sen. Rob Hogg,
D-Cedar Rapids, has been a vocal proponent of Iowans taking the charge to prevent further climate change. He has authored the book “America’s Climate Century” that appears essential reading to Iowans wanting to deal with this pressingissue. Hogg wrote me: “Across our state, Iowans are connecting the dots between climate change and a series of recent disasters — record flooding in 2008, 2010 and 2011, extreme storms, the drought of 2012, and the erratic weather we have experienced this year.
“More Iowans are taking action to fight climate change, too, by conserving energy, building green buildings, investing in fuel efficiency and electric vehicles, and expanding our use of wind, solar, geothermal and biomass.
“Beyond that, Iowans are speaking up, telling our elected officials and candidates that it is time to take climate action. Groups like Green Dubuque, Sustainable Independence, 100 Grannies for a Livable Future, the Indianola Green Team and Citizens Climate Lobby are all asking our elected officials to support policies that promote sustainability.”
It’s no longer enough to just do what we can on an individual level.
I used to feel pretty good that my wife drives a Prius, that my Honda Civic gets 40 mpg on the highway, that we recycle at home and in the office, that we support local agriculture and organic farming with a share in a CSA (community supported agriculture), and that we’ve changed over all our lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL).
But that’s clearly not enough.
A professor of nutrition
at Des Moines University, David Spreadbury, doesn’t mince words about what needs to be done to prevent worsening of climate change.
He calls for a “Manhattan Project” (the name first used to describe the U.S.’s race to build an atomic bomb) on alternative energy to turn our country and planet around.
He advocates for a project “with the focus of brains, resources and human input on renewable solar thermal energy and its distribution” and says an area equivalent to 12 percent of Nevada could satisfy all electrical needs in the U.S.
Spreadbury notes that European medical journals rate climate change as the number one emerging health issue in the world.
Let’s take the good doctor’s advice and push our government — at the city, state and federal levels — to make the changes we need to make as leaders in the world, to sustain and prevent further climate change.
We owe this to all children and their children’s children. The time to act is now.
Rob Hogg