The Endangerment Finding Stood on Science
And hand-waving won't change that
Disclaimer: This post was written by Dr. Andrew Rosenberg in his personal capacity and not on behalf of any organization or entity. The views expressed herein are Dr. Rosenberg’s and his alone.
The EPA’s withdrawal of the finding that greenhouse gases, by warming the planet, are a clear and present danger to human health and well-being is, of course, a terrible step back from U.S. efforts to slow global warming. There is full justified outrage across the country and indeed the world that the U.S. government would take such an idiotic action.
Even beyond its impact on the fight against climate change, the withdrawal of the endangerment finding is another, even more dramatic, demonstration that the Trump Administration has discarded any semblance of valuing scientific information in its “leadership” of the country.
We Have Come a Long Way Since 2009
While the focus has been on the formal 2009 finding of endangerment under the Clean Air Act, there has been a wealth of scientific information on climate change and its many impacts in the subsequent 17 years. In talking to reporters frequently over that time, I tried to be clear that “climate science” wasn’t just about analyzing and modeling the drivers of a changing climate. I am a marine ecologist, and most of my work has focused on the dynamics of natural resources in the ocean. I couldn’t possibly do any meaningful science on natural resources without accounting for the effects of a changing climate. And that’s true for scientists across virtually every discipline working on Earth’s natural systems and the human societies that depend upon them.
We all work on or with a changing climate. Personally, I have been involved domestically in a National Academy study of the impacts of climate change and two National Climate Assessments. Internationally, I have been part of several United Nations-organized studies, such as the World Ocean Assessment, that included climate effects in the analysis. Many other scientists have had similar opportunities. I think we may all have had the same experience – the amount of information about the changing climate is staggering in its clarity, volume, and diversity. We pick apart the details but the pattern is overwhelmingly solid.
Lived Experience
While the vast majority of scientists see the evidence of the changing climate and the increasing danger to human health and well-being, so do people everywhere. Not from analysis but from how their lives are affected. Severe weather conditions in all their various forms are the most obvious. The frequency and severity of heat and cold waves, floods, storms, and other weather events are all in the context of the changing climate. Changes to virtually every human activity are now part of people’s lived experience of climate change. Some can pretend that this is just the same as before. But it isn’t.
A Few Cranks Can Always Be Found
Sure, you can always find a few scientists, a few public figures, or even a foolhardy president who will state unequivocally that everyone else is wrong and that only they know. So what. That isn’t science; it is arrogance and self-promotion. Self-interest. Declaring everyone else is “wrong” or “stupid” isn’t evidence of anything. Look. At. The. Data.
Declarations by the president are not policy. It will take more than a press event to stop science or public sensibility. This is a long, hard fight we are in the midst of- to stop fundamental changes due to global warming. And to fight the reactionary forces that want to ignore the true dangers that climate change poses.
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The repeal of the endangerment finding is outrageous and damaging to the reputation of US science. The remaining nations of the world know that climate change is real. They will need to lead the fight to address climate until the US can rid itself of Trump. I hope they do it vigorously!