As Greta says, we should push for a zero-carbon economy

Ridiculed by cynics and mocked by US President Donald Trump, who made only a brief appearance at the UN’s climate summit, Swedish teen Greta Thunberg expressed in the strongest terms her generation’s frustration with the global effort to counter the effects of the human epoch on Earth’s atmosphere. In presenting members of Congress with a copy of a disturbing report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, she said, “I don’t want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to the scientists.” While some adults dismiss the pleadings of this teenage girl as hysterical, many others are listening and nodding agreement. She inspired last week’s student protests of government and corporate inaction, and former president Barack Obama fist-bumped her and called her “one of our planet’s greatest advocates.” They understand that climate change presents a grave and complex threat to the quality of life of future generations. Surveys of Americans have clearly shown growing acceptance that human activity – primarily, our use of fossil fuels – is the major cause of climate change, and a recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 40% of people now believe climate change to be a “crisis,” up from under 25% five years ago.In Maryland, the latest Goucher Poll finds nearly 70% of the state’s residents agreeing that climate change is mostly caused by human activity. That represents an increase of 10 percentage points in just the last two years and suggests that the reality of climate change, either as an explained phenomenon or as an observed one, has hit home. Without accelerated efforts to reduce carbon emissions in major ways, without transforming whole economies, we could see some of the most severe effects of global warming as soon as 2040. A leading climate scientist, James Anderson of Harvard, predicts big problems in less time than that.Meanwhile, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tells us that the Northern Hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record since 1880, and we have had five consecutive summers of record-breaking heat. A study estimated a 12-year loss of $555mn in property value appreciation around Maryland because of increased tidal flooding. Another study, by a team of engineers and geodata specialists, estimated that, with just modest sea-level rise, the cost of protecting homes, businesses and farms in vulnerable areas of Maryland could cost about $27bn. And that’s assuming efforts would be made to save lands that face inundation as the planet warms.The good news is that Maryland’s political leaders have recognised the approaching storm and set goals for reducing both our dependence on fossil fuels and the greenhouse gas emissions it causes. Half of the state’s energy must come from renewable sources by 2030 under a new state law that requires utilities to subsidise solar and wind farms. Governor Larry Hogan has said he wants 100% of the state’s electricity to come from “clean” sources (as distinguished from only renewable sources, such as wind and solar) by 2040. New York State has pledged to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Such action is essential for the future of the planet. As the girl from Sweden said: Don’t listen to us, listen to the scientists. – Tribune News Service