TOP CLIMATE SCIENTIST AT SCRIPPS INSTITUTE DENOUNCES TRUMP ENERGY PLAN AS "TRAGIC"

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By Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine

“In stark terms, hundreds of millions of people will die - and countless species become extinct - because of eight more years of US inaction.” – Jeffrey Severinghaus, PhD

January 22, 2017 (San Diego) – One of the world’s top climate scientists is speaking out to denounce President Donald Trump’s energy plan and warn of its dire consequences for humanity.   Jeffrey Severinghaus, PhD  from Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego actually measures the ice cores in Antaractica and Greenland.

“This is sad, and tragic,” Jeffrey Severinghaus, PhD, told East County Magazine after we sent him a copy of the energy plan posted at Whitehouse.gov by the Trump administration and informed him that climate change has been removed from the issues page at the White House website, along with all data on climate science previously posted there. 

Severinghaus warns bluntly, “We as a species cannot afford four more years—or eight, of delay on climate action. The stakes are simply too high.”

Severinghaus is a professor of geosciences at Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. He was recently appointed to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences during the Obama administration. His work on climate science has won many prestigious awards. Dr. Severinghaus has pioneered research efforts measuring trapped gas bubbles in ice cores in Antarctica and Greenland to detect past ocean temperature changes. (Hear our radio interview last year with Dr. Severinghaus, in which he explains clearly how molecular structures of those ice samples prove climate change is caused or accelerated by carbon from burning fossil fuels--not a natural cycle.)

Trump’s energy plan posted at the White House website calls for increased oil drilling and fracking, especially on public lands, as well as increased coal production—all fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gas emissions, worsening climate change, according to 98% of the world’s climate scientists. Trump’s plan makes no mention of solar, wind, or any other renewable resource, nor even of conservation. 

In an email to East County Magazine on Saturday,  Severinghaus elaborated on his concerns, stating, “Recent research has shown that we only have a decade to radically decarbonize the U.S. economy before we lock in a path exceeding the `safe’ threshold of 2 degrees C global warming.  In stark terms, hundreds of millions of people will die - and countless species become extinct - because of eight more years of US inaction.”

He does see one bright spot. “The good news is that California and other western states are going ahead without the federal government,” Dr. Severinghaus observes, adding, “We can be proud of our State and the visionary leadership it is providing on this issue.  California is on track to meet its commitment to decarbonize, by investing heavily in solar and wind power, and by making direct agreements with dozens of other nations.  We are also creating high-paying jobs by becoming the green-tech manufacturing hub.”

What can citizens do? Severinghaus offers this advice on a proposal that he believes should have bipartisan appeal.

“Now we need to push hard on our Congress to pass a carbon fee and dividend, which will make solar and wind even more competitive with fossil,” he says. “Carbon fee and dividend is the only solution that is politically palatable because the government does not keep one dime of revenue - all proceeds from the fee are returned to the US citizens with their tax return check each year.”

Below is the Trump energy plan, as it appears today, posted Friday after the Inauguration, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/america-first-energy:

An America First Energy Plan

Energy is an essential part of American life and a staple of the world economy. The Trump Administration is committed to energy policies that lower costs for hardworking Americans and maximize the use of American resources, freeing us from dependence on foreign oil.

For too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry. President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help American workers, increasing wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years.

Sound energy policy begins with the recognition that we have vast untapped domestic energy reserves right here in America. The Trump Administration will embrace the shale oil and gas revolution to bring jobs and prosperity to millions of Americans. We must take advantage of the estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, especially those on federal lands that the American people own. We will use the revenues from energy production to rebuild our roads, schools, bridges and public infrastructure. Less expensive energy will be a big boost to American agriculture, as well.

The Trump Administration is also committed to clean coal technology, and to reviving America’s coal industry, which has been hurting for too long.

In addition to being good for our economy, boosting domestic energy production is in America’s national security interest. President Trump is committed to achieving energy independence from the OPEC cartel and any nations hostile to our interests. At the same time, we will work with our Gulf allies to develop a positive energy relationship as part of our anti-terrorism strategy.

Lastly, our need for energy must go hand-in-hand with responsible stewardship of the environment. Protecting clean air and clean water, conserving our natural habitats, and preserving our natural reserves and resources will remain a high priority. President Trump will refocus the EPA on its essential mission of protecting our air and water.

A brighter future depends on energy policies that stimulate our economy, ensure our security, and protect our health. Under the Trump Administration’s energy policies, that future can become a reality.


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Comments

California massive carbon footprint is being hidden

This is not a true statement..............."California is on track to meet its commitment to decarbonize, by investing heavily in solar and wind power, and by making direct agreements with dozens of other nations. We are also creating high-paying jobs by becoming the green-tech manufacturing hub.” Importing energy from other states does very little except fool the ignorant. California's massive and growing energy demands are being passed on other states. As for meeting any commitments, when the numbers being fed the public are fraudulent, there can be no scientific validity to this statement. In parts 2 and 3 of this article.........."Wind Energy a runaway failure for nearly 4 decades", all this rigging very clearly presented.

Carbon Fee and Dividend

www.CitizensClimateLobby.org provides excellent information about the national carbon fee and dividend policy that Dr. Severinghaus advocates.