Climate change Cassandras

Boston Globe/Op-Ed

Heading for a "roasted world" 

By John K. Bullard, March 6, 2006
 

W

e are so dependent on our political leaders, much more than we realize. The visible aspects of leadership such as making decisions, taking positions, and funding projects pale in comparison to the hidden ability to focus our attention or distract us... 
 
My granddaughter is 18 months old. This issue will change her life. What will I say to her? We can respond to this crisis. Many of us are willing to play a role, to change our behavior. We need to believe that our individual actions will be combined with others to change the course of human events. That's why we need leaders. But we need leaders who have the intelligence to see climate change for what it is -- a crisis. We need leaders who realize we are not guaranteed an existence. And that we need to act now, not only for future generations, but for ourselves.

John K. Bullard, the former mayor of New Bedford, is president of the Sea Education Association. He directed the NOAA's Office of Sustainable Development in the Clinton administration. His Op Ed appeared here. See story of his students rescuing 47 Haitians at sea here.

New York Times/Op-Ed

Warm, warmer, warmest

By Nicholas B. Kristof, March 5, 2006
 

O

ne of the hottest environmental battles has been over oil drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the sad reality is that much of the Arctic plain will probably be lost anyway in this century to rising sea levels.
 
That should be our paramount struggle: to stop global warming. It threatens not only the Arctic plain, but also low-lying areas around the world with 100 million inhabitants. And it could be accelerating because of the three scariest words in climate science: positive feedback loops...

''Historians of science will be brutal on us,'' said Jerry Mahlman, a climate expert at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. ''We are right now in a state of deep denial about how severe the problem is. Political people are saying, 'Well, it's not on my watch.' They're ducking for cover, because who's going to tell the American people?''

Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The Times since November 2001, writes op-ed columns that appear each Wednesday and Saturday. Previously, he was associate managing editor of The Times, responsible for Sunday editions. The column above appeared on Sunday here.