Moser: Climate Change is Happening — Believe it

How did climate change became such a divisive issue? How did the warming of the Earth evolve into a line in the sand for politicians? I don’t know those answers.  What I do know is that it is definitely hotter earlier in the season, year after year.

I don’t need scientific data, I can just look in my garden. All plants come up earlier. June bugs arrive in May. Lenten roses are blooming in February.

I am not politically aligned with any Democrats or Republicans or even independents, but I have noticed the majority of my Republican friends seem to believe there is no global warming, there is no climate change and there are no melting ice caps.

I guess, like reading the Bible, you can find evidence to support anything you believe, so if you do believe in climate change, you can find lots of evidence that confirms your personal belief. Likewise, if you don’t believe in global warming, you can find lots of expert reference to support that. If you are a middle of the road sort of person, you can collect reference and back up your arguments on both sides.

I admit I have a jaded way of thinking about global policies and politics. I’m pretty sure everything revolves around money. Whether war or famine, health or religion, climate change, corporate policy, automation, jobs, benefits or any number of big think items, money is at the heart. Someone is getting rich either by spending vast amounts of money or saving vast amounts of money.

Jobs are created or jobs are lost because of profit. Wars are waged to absorb countries and gain their resources. Religions collect untold fortunes to help the poor, but don’t you think for one moment no one is profiting from their bounty.

Regardless what you think about climate change, SOMETHING is happening. What might bring it home for non-believers is the recent lawsuit by Farmers Insurance Company against Chicago, alleging the city is not preparing the infrastructure for increased flooding due to climate change.

So, here’s the deal; it doesn’t matter whether you believe climate change is occurring. There are plenty of people who do believe it. Businesses, concerned about their profits believe in climate change. The United States Government has a Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. There are literally thousands of scholarly articles and volumes of research indicating that climate change is occurring.

You don’t have to believe it. There are enough people who do believe and enough of those big money makers who do believe that new policies are going to be crafted, new ways of responding are going to be developed. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree. So if you’ve been resistant to get on the bandwagon about climate change or you’ve been straddling the fence, you may as well jump in and get wet. It looks like everyone else is!