Mitt Romney's lack of willingness to make even the easiest, "no cost" expressions of concern about global warming, and rising sea levels is pathetic and sad. Don Lieber writes an encouraging story entitled While Romney Mocks Sea-Level Rise, City Planners across the Country Take Action. Here's just a taste.
At the Republican national convention last week, Mitt Romney mocked efforts to address climate change, specifically deriding President Obama for seeking to address rising ocean levels. Here’s what he said:
“President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans…(pause to allow for laughter) and to heal the planet. My promise … is to help you and your family.”
Romney sought to draw an emotive distinction between ‘healing the planet’ and ‘helping families’. ...
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Urban planners across the United States are incorporating rising sea levels in planning and construction of infrastructure, public works, social services and building construction. ... Mr. Romney, in his 10-second convention-speech soundbite, dismissed ‘the rising oceans’ as unimportant — even silly. Contrast that with the official website of the City of Boston, which states: “The climate will continue to change…. some changes, such as sea-level rise… pose major risks to Boston, its infrastructure, its tax base, and its residents. For these reasons, Boston has a responsibility to prepare for climate change, even as we work to lessen its impacts.
Lieber recounts how Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, Massachusetts was built 12 feet higher than originally planned to take rising sea levels over the next century into account and electrical systems were placed on the roof instead of the basement.
More below the squiggle on how professional city planners are making efforts to empower future generations with better odds for dealing with the upcoming overwhelming environmental challenges.
Please follow the link to learn about sea level related efforts of the New York City Council, City Council of Portland Maine, Maryland Department of National Resources, and California Land Commission, all originally researched, by the National Resource Defense Council.
My first reaction was to make fun of what an idiot Romney is, and ask myself "what did I expect" from such a pandering weasel. After all, he's changed his "positions" of nearly every other issue, and seems to be trying to set a record for how low can he go in regressive limbo. But, as I think about it more, very few of us are taking the challenges of global change and converting to sustainable forms of energy use seriously enough.
How discouraging it must be for people of Micronesia and Bangladesh to watch our elections with knowledge that their homelands will be uninhabitable within their lifetimes due to a combination of sea level rise, and increase in climate variability. And, when the majority of the other countries of the world take two decades of effort to finally agree to ratify a major global treaty to take our first global counter-actions and the United States of America led efforts to undermine the treaties. I wonder if the rest of the world thinks we are a whole country of Mitt Romneys where our debate ranges the "full gamet" of doing nothing at all, or making vague non-specific expressions to hope. But, then the later are derisively ridiculed as being "extremist."
But, this is a Friday night, and I'm still recovering from escaping the ER with diverticulitis, where they also found nodules on my lungs and adrenal glands that will require PET scanning, and who knows what after that. So, I don't wish to write any long essays, but just briefly share this encouraging short article on our nation's city planners who are taking our future seriously.