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There is no longer a question as to whether the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate — it is, as countless studies have concluded — or whether human activity is contributing to rising global temperatures. The question now, as it has been for years, is how to respond — either through a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse emissions and invest heavily in resilience for threatened communities, such as those in Hampton Roads, or by sticking our heads firmly in the sand and pretending it’s not happening. The Trump administration now seems fully committed to the latter path, to the detriment of our region and the larger nation.
Tuesday is Earth Day, which 55 years ago marked the start of America’s modern environmental movement, and it should spark strong opposition to efforts to eliminate climate research, reverse efforts to cut emissions and avoid the tough decisions needed to limit the harm posed by a warming planet. Analysis released by NASA last month showed the rate of global sea rise accelerating 35% more than was expected over the past three decades, a finding that has profound implications for our region. This is among the places in the United States most threatened by sea-level rise, which already affects how we live, work, travel and recreate.
Hampton Roads has put forth considerable money and effort to bolster resilience, and Virginia has made strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to warmer oceans and rising sea levels. But we know those efforts must accelerate and expand to protect vulnerable communities and avoid catastrophe long-term damage to the region’s viability. That requires a firm partnership with the federal government, which should be working to improve America’s air and water and to guard against the effects of climate change.
No city or state can go it alone in that battle; they require the oversight, enforcement and resources that only Washington can provide. But President Donald Trump and his administration have other plans. Since taking office in January, the White House has taken aim at departments, programs and initiatives that are vital to how the nation addresses climate change.
Trump wants to end climate research conducted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.
He has signed executive orders that seek to halt the growth of clean-energy generation projects and neutralize state laws encouraging renewable energy. And he fired the two dozen staffers at the U.S.
Global Change Research Program, which helps coordinate federal climate efforts. That’s just the tip of the melting iceberg, though. The president’s hostility to climate science extends as far as the reach of his office.
His administration is staffed, not with climate skeptics, but those who vehemently oppose any effort to reduce fossil fuel emissions that drive global warming. Scientists know what will happen if the international community cannot arrest rising world temperatures, and we’re already seeing its effects — more frequent and destructive extreme weather systems, prolonged and harmful droughts, intense flooding, decreased food and livestock production, rising death rates due to heat and cold, and the loss of critical infrastructure, including military installations, due to flooding. Sign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter That last consequence is a danger to Hampton Roads, home to some of the nation’s most important military bases.
Without a robust investment in resilience for our coastlines, and without efforts to reduce the greenhouse emissions that are supercharging sea-level rise, our region faces grave risks. Eliminating research into climate change won’t make it go away, nor will ending green-energy programs reduce the public’s desire for cleaner, reliable, domestic energy sources. It only puts people at greater risk and inhibits efforts to make places such as Hampton Roads a center for green-energy development, with the economic benefits it would bring.
Fifty-five years ago, the first Earth Day put a spotlight on the nation’s need to protect its environment. This year, it highlights the need to protect climate science and proven climate initiatives from the White House chopping block. Our very future depends on it.
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