The Washington Post headline today is frightening for anyone who cares about life on Earth. The banner headline on Washingtonpost.com is this: "Global Warming Debate Shifts to 'Tipping Point.'" Click on the story and you get this: "Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change," with yet another scary subtitle, "Some Experts on Global Warming Foresee 'Tipping Point' When It Is Too Late to Act."The key quote from the article comes from James E. Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, who the Bush Administration is trying to gag because he has the audacity to SPEAK THE TRUTH on global warming. And that truth is? 1) According to Hansen, 2005 was the warmest year on record for the planet, continuing a 30-year warming trend; 2) if this continues, which it looks likely to do thanks to human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, it "impl[ies] changes that constitute practically a different planet;" and 3) this situation is so severe that "It's not something you can adapt to...We can't let it go on another 10 years like this. We've got to do something."
Don't believe Hansen for some reason? Well then, how about Princeton University geosciences and international affairs professor Michael Oppenheimer, who warns of catastrophic sea level rise (possibly 20 feet!) if the Greenland or West Antarctic ice sheets disintegrate.
Or how about just about every single Republican former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)? At a recent forum honoring the 35th anniversary of the EPA's founding (by Richard Nixon), "All of the former administrators and the current one, Stephen Johnson, raised their hands when the event moderator asked whether they believe global warming is a real problem and again when he asked if humans bear significant blame."
Or how about Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which has estimated a 50% chance that there will be a collapse within the next 200 years of the "Atlantic thermohaline circulation, a current that brings warm surface water to northern Europe and returns cold, deep-ocean water south?"
Alright, enough of this. If you don't "believe" in the dangers of global warming at this point, and you don't "believe" that humans have a great deal to do with it, then I've got some nice (unused) "creation science" textbooks to sell you. Seriously, the only question now is how quickly we humans are going to DO SOMETHING about this crisis. And, since the Bush Administration appears worthless on this subject, it is up to the states, private companies and individuals to take action immediately. Here's what we need to do in Virginia RIGHT NOW:
1) Immediately move to adopt so-called "California standards" "reducing global warming pollution from all new cars and trucks sold in the state." Already, several states have done so. What is Virginia waiting for exactly?
2) Immediately adopt a strong Renewable Portfolio Standard to require those who sell electricity in Virginia to have a certain percentage of renewable power (wind, solar, geothermal, wave) in their mix.
3) Immediately pass legislation to provide MAJOR TAX CREDITS to Virginians for energy efficiency improvements. Get rid of the sales tax for anyone buying a hybrid vehicle. Reward people for trading in fuel inefficient vehicles for far more fuel efficient ones. Cover most of the cost for people to increase the fuel efficiency of their homes and businesses. Use our surplus to provide tax credits for fuel-efficient heat pumps and hot water heaters, upgraded roofing (including so-called "green roofs"), high efficiency windows, etc.
4) Discourage sprawl and encourage "smart growth" by adopting Governor Kaine's proposals aimed at tying transportation to land-use planning. This is not an end point but a STARTING POINT. After adopting Kaine's current proposals, which are good, Virginia needs to do a lot more. Kudos to Kaine for making a start in the direction of "smart growth" and in reining in sprawl, but keep in mind that this is only a start.
5) If we REALLY want to cut greenhouse gas emissions, couple all the tax incentives listed above with - heresy alert for right-wingers and anti-tax "flat earthers!" - a sizeable increase in Virginia's tax on gasoline. I have no desire for this to be an overall tax increase, just to target greenhouse gas emissions, so I would be completely in favor of offsetting the gas tax increase with CUTS to Virginia's sales tax, income tax, or any other tax. The point of this is not to raise revenue, it's to reduce greenhoue gas emissions and to help save the planet from catastrophe.
So, there you have it, a 5-point plan to reduce Virginia's greenhouse gas emissions quickly and significantly. It can be revenue neutral if desired, so the anti-taxers don't really have any argument here. Now, imagine the political impact if a southern, "red" state like Virginia took action like this. My guess is that the reverberations would be felt as far away as...oh...Washington DC, a few miles up the road. Right now, those people appear to be living in la-la land, as in "la la la la la la la, I don't hear anything because my fingers are in my ears and my head in the sand." It's time to change that. Right here, right now.