That started me thinking about what future generations will say about us. Perhaps they will praise us, but I am afraid they will curse us for failing to take action on the environment, particularly global warming, when action could have made a difference.

It is clear the planet is warming, and warming rapidly. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the group of the leading climate scientists in the world) concluded that the earth will warm anywhere from 2.7 to almost 11 degrees Fahrenheit between 1990 and 2100. That estimate is almost double the group's 1995 estimate and far exceeds the one-degree change during the past century. An increase of 2.7 degrees, let alone a larger increase, will have major impacts.

Examples of the possible impact of climate change on the United States are detailed in "Climate Change in America," a report released in June. Possible impacts include the disappearance of the alpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains, the decline of the Great Lakes, the loss of wetlands, marshes and barrier islands due to rising ocean levels, the occurrence of more frequent and severe heat waves in larger cities and the spread of waterborne or insect-carrying diseases, including malaria in the Southeast. Impacts on other parts of the world, particularly low-lying areas, are likely to be far worse.

It is not only scientists who are raising the red flag about this impending crisis:

"The insurance business is the first in line to be affected by climate change ... it could bankrupt the industry," says Franklin Nutter, President of the Reinsurance Association of America.

"Failure to act (on global warming) would leave the insurance industry and its policyholders vulnerable to truly disastrous consequences," says H.R. Kaufmann, General Manager of Swiss Re, a major reinsurance company.

Scientists also have concluded that humans have played, and continue to play, a role in climate change. For example, according to Tom Wigley, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, "We can be very confident that a substantial fraction of the warming in the last 100 years is due to human activity."

Because of the latest evidence, companies that had previously denied the existence of global warming now are taking steps to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and to invest in renewable energy. Forward-looking leaders of these companies realize there is a profit in reducing greenhouse gases.

For example, Charles O. Holliday, Chief Executive Officer of DuPont, said, "At DuPont we are preparing our company for what we see as a long journey to a more climate-friendly and environmentally sound global economy. While we have already reduced our global greenhouse gases by nearly 60 percent, we have committed to take the next leap forward, setting new goals for 2010: reducing global carbon-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent, using 1990 as a base year; holding total energy use flat, using 1990 as a base year; and using renewable resources for 10 percent of our global energy use." DuPont demonstrates that it is possible and profitable to meet the scientific community's goal — a reduction of 50 to 70 percent in greenhouse gas emissions.

John Browne, Group Chief Executive, British Petroleum, in a speech announcing the company plans to increase its solar manufacture capacity to $1 billion in annual sales within a decade, said "It would be unwise and potentially dangerous to ignore the mounting concern (about global warming). The time to consider the policy dimensions of climate change is not when the link between greenhouse gases and climate change is conclusively proven ... but when the possibility cannot be discounted and is taken seriously by the society of which we are part. We in BP have reached that point."

Despite all of this, the U.S. continues to block progress against global warming. At the recent conference in The Hague, the "environmental" Clinton administration put forward proposals that basically allowed the U.S. to avoid reducing greenhouse gases. To make matters even worse, our newly selected president seems to have adopted the mantra, oil and coal, good; global warming treaty, bad; don't worry, be happy.

We clearly cannot rely on government and industry to act responsibly. If we care about our children and grandchildren, it is up to us to take the lead. We can pressure our local, state and national governments to act, but only if we bring enough pressure to bear to overcome the campaign contributions from the auto and fossil fuel industries.

We also must pressure utilities to adopt new policies. The recent huge price increases in natural gas and oil demonstrate the risk for utilities in relying on fossil fuels. Renewable energy production is becoming more price competitive, and is actually far cheaper when all factors are considered. We also need to attend the upcoming Colorado Public Utilities Commission meeting and support wind power. Xcel Energy, formerly Public Service Co., should increase its wind power production instead of adding fossil fuel plants. Colorado should be a leader in renewables.

Besides the increased use of renewables, utilities must encourage energy efficiency. Xcel should provide financial incentives for people to purchase the most efficient appliances, to use compact fluorescent light bulbs, to replace windows with double-pane windows and to insulate their homes. States should provide bonuses to utilities that reduce energy consumption. Local authorities should require new construction to use less than a specified amount of energy per square foot and to use distributed energy resources. It is far less expensive to conserve than to build new plants. Government should also encourage the use of mass transit, provide tax rebates for people who buy low- and no-pollution vehicles and end subsidies to fossil fuel and the nuclear industries.

A Cree Indian prophesy warns: "Only when the last tree has been cut down; only after the last river has been poisoned; only after the last fish has been caught; only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."

We can make a difference if we act now. If we wait until global warming is causing major havoc, it will be too late.

Ron Forthofer was the Green Party candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat in 2000. He lives in Longmont.

Copyright 2001 The Daily Camera

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