Climate Crisis AM 2/29/24 Accusation Of Lying
America got a reminder of just how huge and destructive wildfires can be. A fire the size of the state of Rhode Island is tearing through parts of Texas and is already the second largest in the state’s history. The largest of what is actually several connected fires is The Smokehouse Fire, which has already burned over 1,300 square miles. The fire has destroyed at least 100 homes, and experts say that figure will rise much higher. Over 10,000 people have had to leave their houses.
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The head of climate affairs for the Biden Administration, John Kerry, says that among the biggest enemies to slowing climate change are leaders who lie about the dire situation and mislead the population for various reasons. In comments by The Guardian, he said, “People are not being told the truth about what the impacts are from making this transition [to net zero greenhouse gas emissions]. They’re being scared, purposely frightened by the demagoguery that is oblivious to the facts or distorting the facts. And in some cases outright lying is going on.” Kerry did not name any leaders or politicians when he made his accusation.
Duke’s Fuqua School of Business hosted a group of business leaders and politicians who discussed the climate change problem and how the public and private sectors might address the challenges of rapid growth in global warming. Among the solutions discussed are the rise of EVs and the improvement of their batteries. Very high hurdles remain to public-private partnerships. The relationship between the private sector, which is usually driven by profit goals, and government, which is driven by politics, is that the incentives of each may be very different from the other. Private sector enterprises like EVs, wind, and solar energy often have profit challenges and a lack of money available to advance the use of next-generation technology,
Saltwater is encroaching further upriver at the mouth of the Amazon. Due to drought, the river’s freshwater flow has dropped sharply. According to Mongabay, “As a result, water from the Atlantic Ocean, which itself is increasing its level, is infiltrating the islands from the north for a progressively longer period of the year, making the available water saline.”
