Eugene Robinson piece on Saturday shouldn't be missed.
I saw that nobody had diaried it yet in the furor over Paul Ryan's selection. So here's how it starts.
For those who continue to doubt climate change: It's here to stay
Excuse me, folks, but the weather is trying to tell us something.
Listen carefully, and you can almost hear a parched, raspy voice whispering, “What part of ‘hottest month ever’ do you people not understand?”
According to the National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Admin-istration, July was indeed the hottest month in the contiguous United States since record-keeping began more than a century ago. That distinction was previously held by July 1936, which came at the height of the Dust Bowl calamity that devastated the American heartland.
The average temperature last month was 77.6 degrees – a full 3.3 degrees warmer than the 20th-century norm for July. This follows the warmest 12-month period ever recorded in the United States, and it continues a long-term trend that is obvious to all except those who stubbornly close their eyes: Of the 10 hottest years on record, nine have occurred since 2000.
James E. Hansen, who heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, summed it up in a piece he wrote for The Washington Post last week: “The future is now. And it is hot.”
Robinson concludes with asking why the candidates for President aren't talking about the climate elephant in the room.
I’d like to hear President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney talk about the future of the planet. What about you?
I agree with Robinson wholeheartedly. It's time to start discussing climate change in our presidential politics again.
Are you Listening Mr. President?
What do you think?