The great drought of 2011 and the floods and flash drought of 2015 show the future for Texas. Climate change is momentous, powerful, and slow moving, yet we are being caught by surprise. We cannot reverse it immediately, but I believe we can limit the change over the long term and we can cope if we adopt proper policies and continue to adjust those policies as we learn more. If we do not begin to adapt now, we will be reacting out of desperation later, only to be overwhelmed by an increasingly hostile environment. I believe the public should support a policy to restore the environment and I also believe a policy to restore the environment will succeed only if it is supported by the public.
www.globalchange.gov
The establishment parties and corporations cannot cope with climate change. They have no concept to restore the environment, no way to account for improvement or degradation, and no means to reward success or correct failure. There is no concept of the environment besides exploitation in the establishment world view. Simply put — there is no place for the environment in the corporate balance sheet.
Climate change and environmental deterioration will cause increasing human suffering and ever worse economic losses that cannot be absorbed by the federal reserve money system. The corporate system is already dependent upon quantitative easing and federal deficit spending, but repeated losses from droughts, floods, storms, and rising sea level will prove to be far too much for any bailout or stimulus programs.
The denial/greenwash policies of the establishment parties are not working now and will never be effective. Denial and greenwash will transform into panic and authoritarian policies as climate change progresses. If we do not act effectively, we will be forced into desperate choices in a vain effort to cope with a hostile environment. I believe we should take steps which benefit the public and are known to help the environment, and continue to improve the policies as we learn more. We must accomplish the two goals of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and reducing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and we should begin immediately.
Positions:
- Expand public transportation instead of the highway system. The DFW area bus fleet could be tripled in size or more with the cost of a single highway project. Public transportation can be pleasant, efficient, and economical with the right priorities and good management. We can save tax money, have better transportation choices, and significantly reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, quality public transportation will help our local economy and make this area a more desirable place to live.
- Expand renewable energy, especially wind and solar power, with an emphasis on rooftop solar and improving the electricity grid. Also focus on energy conservation and reduction of energy needs. The establishment fiasco of fracking has been an enormous loss – polluting groundwater, destroying infrastructure, and wasting billions in unpaid debts. We would be far better off, with more freedom and a better economy, had the same effort been put into renewable energy and conservation.
- Expand organic agriculture to rebuild top soil and expand reforestation programs. End subsidies to industrial agriculture and tax synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemicals to pay for remediation. Rebuilding topsoil and reforestation are the only practical methods of reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. We should end the federal campaign against family farms and restore a healthy food supply for the public. We should also expand reforestation programs and support for natural areas (public and private), and work to restore the health of waterways and the oceans.
