This will be a quick follow-up to some of my recent musings about climate change. A few days ago in the midst of superstorm Sandy I tweeted out a question asking whether this could "make or break" the campaign for president. As it turns out, Chris Christie the governor of New Jersey, who is both a staunch Republican and a vocal critic of the president, heaped praise on Obama for his response to the disaster.
Then New York mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Obama because he believes that the president is the best equipped and inclined candidate to address climate change. The devastation of Sandy have convinced Bloomberg that climate change is real and has the potential to cripple the economy.
Thank God. Literally, thank God that people seem to be waking up to the potential of human-altered climate. These accolades and endorsements may not change the course of the election but some are paying attention to the changes in the world around us.
Comments?
Facebook is also an interesting place to observe conversations among your community. Since Sandy, I have been happily surprised to see so many articles being forwarded, stemming from the "It's Global Warming, Stupid" cover of Businessweek magazine. I can recall having more than a few conversations with my father five years ago (and more) about climate change and him scoffing at the idea. These days he talks about it as though it's common knowledge. Attitudes are changing, but like someone has mentioned in another post, I think it will take the next generation before anything changes.
ReplyDeleteI too have seen several articles including one in the New York Times acknowledging the possibility of climate change as a factor in Sandy's devastating power. Whether human-influenced or not, the weather is getting weird. We need to pray for the 30 to 40,000 people who are homeless as a result of the storm.
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