Richard Engelhardt: POINT OF VIEW: "Climate is ever-changing; focus on what we can control"

This contribution by Richard Engelhardt appeared in the Post's "Point of View" section in the editorial page a few days ago. Reading it couldn't help but think of our own Lake Worth Commissioner Christopher McVoy, PhD, and his recent history of bringing up Climate Change and 'rising sea levels' at our city commission meetings each time infrastructure improvements and drainage projects were on the agenda.

If you attended any of those meetings you are familiar with the groans in the chambers and the mumbles of "here we go again". McVoy's concern was we shouldn't do anything until all the data is in and then we can make a 'more educated' decision. Of course, no date or time frame was ever given for when that data would be available.

The good news is ever since the last election McVoy has pivoted onto other things such as community revitalization, attending crime walks in the City, and generally focusing on things the City can actually control. This is very good news since we have so many communities in the City that need attention.

Here are a few excerpts from Mr. Engerhardt's contribution to the Post which nails the point perfectly:

     A few years ago, I was listening to a news report that said hundreds of government scientists from around the world were meeting in Europe, where they had unanimously determined that climate change was real, and man-made.
     As a retired scientist, I do not believe that climate is static. Only 10,000 years ago, a continental glacier covered the northern portion of North America; an Arctic ice cap extended from the North Pole to the south, as far as New York City. Across Manhattan, the glacier was a wall of ice about twice the height of the Empire State Building.

[and...]

     In the last 100 years, the sea level has risen about 1 foot. In the next 100 years, sea levels are predicted to rise between 0.6 and 1.5 feet. I’m going to wait and see. [emphasis added]
     When I was young, the common theme was the atomic bomb and its effects: radiation, mutation, etc. In the 1970s and ’80s, the common theme was hazardous waste and its effects: fires, cancer, mutations, etc.
     Today the common theme is climate change and its effects: e.g., global warming, loss of Arctic environment and glaciers, sea-level rise, ocean acidification.

[and...]

     It is my hope that a new common theme develops that we can manage. Here are some examples: the improvement of the railroad and highway infrastructures, artificial recharge of the Ogallala Aquifer, and development of a national water-distribution system to the agricultural areas of California.

Looks as though we're coming together on a "common theme" here in Lake Worth; focusing on the things we can actually control and improve the lives of our citizens.