As Eric Pooley observes in TheClimate War: True Believers, Power Brokers and the Fight to Save the Earth,his fascinating new book about America'sstruggle with global warming, Hurricane Katrina brought attention to theproblem after a decade or so of oblivion. Although the ruinous storm wasn't"caused" by rising average temperatures, it was precisely the kind ofdevastating weather event that will become much more likely on a hotter planet.
In Katrina's wake, most Americans seemed to comprehend that ominousfact, which in turn helped them hear the warning voiced by former VicePresident Al Gore when his documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, was released in May 2006. "The climateissue attention-cycle peaked in early 2007," Pooley writes, just after Gorewon the Nobel Peace Prize, "when a NewYork Times poll found that an overwhelming majority of those surveyed90%of Democrats, 80% of independents, 60% of Republicansfavored 'immediateaction' to confront the crisis. …"
Still, climate action has never become a top priority for Americans asit has for Europeans and others around the world. Political lassitudeencouraged by corporate propaganda and persistent unemployment has kept climatelegislation stalled on Capitol Hill, even though a somewhat compromised billauthored by two Democratic representatives, Henry Waxman of California and EdMarkey of Massachusetts, passed the House last year.
A Time for Leadership
As for Obama, he commenced his administration with strong rhetoricalsupport for "green jobs" and a clean-energy economy, and tooksignificant steps in that direction through the stimulus program. But duringthe year since the passage of the Waxman-Markey bill, the president focused hispolitical strength on passing health care reformwhile his advisers persuadedhim to remain aloof from the climate issue.
Perhaps that was wise political counsel, since global warming has lostmomentum as a public concern over the past three years. But it is bad publicpolicy, because the challenge of coping with climate change only grows worsewith each lost yearand because American global leadership is enfeebled by ourinability to reach national consensus on limiting carbon emissions.
Clearly, as he reiterated in his Oval Office speech, the presidentunderstands what is at stake. And he apparently senses renewed opportunity inthe wake of the gulf catastrophe, which illustrates the problems of oildependency with harrowing urgency. New polling data released last week by theWoods Institute should encourage him.
Although the survey of 1,000 American adults taken during the first weekof June showed a slight decline in the percentage of Americans who believeglobal warming is real and hastened by human activity, 75% still firmly holdthat view. Moreover, 76% said they favor government limitations on greenhousegas emissions generated by businesses, and only 14% said the United States should not take action to combatglobal warming unless countries like Chinaand Indiado so as well. And only 18% believe that policies to combat climate changewould worsen unemployment.
What these numbers suggest is that, like Katrina's terrible aftermath,the months of anguish over the soiled gulf have reawakened Americans to thefate of our country and our planet. The moment has come again for leadershiptoward a green New Deal, in cooperation with all of the major economic powers,that can revive the economy, restore the Earth and preserve a decent life forall of our children.
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