Opinion: Once again, the U.S. embarrasses itself on climate change
Ice breaks up along the Kuskokwim River in Alaska on April 12. By Joel Clement May 6 at 3:13 PM Joel Clement, the former director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the Interior Department from 2011 to 2017, is a senior fellow at the Harvard Belfer Center Arctic Initiative and a senior fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists Center for Science and Democracy.
This isn’t the first time this episode has played out. I bore witness to the administration’s self-inflicted embarrassment two years ago while working at the Interior Department. Then, as now, the leader of the free world stood thoroughly diminished while other nations and the people most affected by the climate crisis were forced to face the consequences.
It didn’t end there. Once negotiators finalized the declaration, another wave of climate-change insecurity beset the martinets at the White House, and they told then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to demand additional changes just days before the signing ceremony in Fairbanks, Alaska. Those changes? Eliminating or changing language about — you guessed it — climate change and the Paris agreement.
The indigenous peoples of the Arctic, like the Pacific island states who face inundation from the rise of sea levels, live squarely in the path of dramatic climate impacts. Vulnerable coastal villages in Alaska face the twin threats of vicious storms and coastal erosion as protective sea ice shrinks and permafrost thaws beneath their feet. In a place where store-bought food is expensive and sometimes scarce, subsistence hunters in some areas can no longer safely travel and hunt on thick sea ice.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | China Cracks Down in Asia’s Once Freest CityOpinion: The attack on political freedom in Hong Kong is a cause for international concern, writes Jung-Hoon Lee
Read more »
Why does Israel's right to defend itself so often lead to the indefensible?Israel can operate with impunity in Gaza and its allies will file it under its 'right to defend' itself without anyone extending those same rights to Palestinians.
Read more »
Donald Trump slams Puerto Rico as Congress considers disaster aid billThe dispute between Trump and Democrats over Puerto Rico has held up a disaster aid bill, but pressure is building on the president to strike a deal.
Read more »
Solid gold toilet once offered to Donald Trump will be installed at Winston Churchill's birthplace“Despite being born with a silver spoon in my mouth I have never had a s***t on a golden toilet, so I look forward to it,” said Edward Spencer-Churchill.
Read more »
Analysis | Power Up: Trump is being tested on the world stage all at onceIt's unclear what will happen with China, the Middle East, Iran and Venezuela.
Read more »
Analysis | In June 2016, Trump tweeted nine charts criticizing Obama. Let’s see how he stacks up.Analysis: In June 2016, Trump tweeted nine charts criticizing Obama. Let’s see how he stacks up.
Read more »
Strong Apple Earnings Could Push the Company Above $1 Trillion Once AgainAfter a big drop in 2018 and a furious rally to start 2019, Apple is once again closing on a $1 trillion market value. Apple’s earnings report could be the catalyst that puts it back over the top.
Read more »
Rain and mud could be Kentucky Derby's deciding factors once againA vicious torrent of rain soaked Churchill Downs on Friday morning, subsided in the afternoon, but is expected to return just in time for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Read more »
NJOY, a Once Bankrupt E-Cigarette Maker, Now Seeks $5 Billion ValuationE-cigarette maker NJOY Holdings Inc. is pursuing a funding round that would value the company at as much as $5 billion, and it is trying to interest big tobacco companies looking to take a run at market leader Juul Labs.
Read more »
Once imprisoned, now onstage: The new voices of Philip Glass’ ‘In the Penal Colony’The Philip Glass opera ‘In the Penal Colony’ gets an unusual adaptation: the addition of stories from Cal State Long Beach students rebuilding their lives after incarceration.
Read more »