Editorial

Ignoring climate change won’t make it disappear

Posted

The end of the century is a long time away, and it’s doubtful anyone reading this will be around to celebrate the arrival of 2100. But if you are that fortunate person 83 years from now, don’t expect to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Not unless you have a boat.

In November, America decided to make itself “great” again by electing a climate change denier to the White House. Sure, President Trump is welcome to his opinion like anyone else, but his scientifically contrarian beliefs come with the power of the federal government.

That means the future of not just our country, but also our world, lies in the hands of a president who may watch the ocean envelop his precious Trump Tower in Manhattan and still call climate change nothing but a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.

Yes, 2100 is a long way off, and there’s plenty of time to fix anything we’re doing wrong now. Or is there? At some point very soon we have to reverse the global warming ship or we’ll never have enough fuel to return to safe harbor. Although we’re not experiencing the drama of many dystopian disaster films that fill our cinemas, global warming isn’t just a future problem — it’s a now problem.

Sure, farms are having longer growing seasons, but precipitation has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution, creating massive flooding problems in many parts of the world, along with more intense heat waves and storms that are becoming far more intense. Hurricane Sandy, in 2012, most likely wasn’t a fluke, and in many ways Long Island is still recovering from that storm.

The recent climate march in Washington, New York City, Long Island and elsewhere was desperately needed. Citizens need to send a clear signal to our lawmakers that we care about this issue — now and in future elections.

Climate change is real, Mr. Trump. It’s impossible to consider any country great that would allow its largest city and surrounding municipalities to drown in the ocean.