Those living in much of the Eastern and Central U.S. would likely be surprised to hear NOAA’s recent announcement that July 2014 was one of the hottest Julys on record. For many Americans, this has been one of the most comfortable summers in recent memory—no sweltering heat waves and triple digit heat indexes that are often the summer norm. In fact, twenty-five states saw a cooler than average July and a few experienced record low temperatures. Does this mean NOAA is wrong? No it doesn’t. While a few areas of the globe were cooler than average, most were warmer. July brought record heat to the U.S. West Coast, Norway and parts of Africa. The contradiction between the temperature in one place and the global average is an example of how weather systems and climate intersect. Weather systems will always influence what we experience at any given time and place. Sometimes that will align with global averages and trends, sometimes it won’t. This underscores why it is unwise to make assumptions about climate change based on localized and short-term weather conditions. Prudence dictates that we look at the big picture, which includes average global temperatures and long-term trends. The map below provides a good visual overview of how July temperatures, worldwide, compared to long-term...
Louisiana state Representative Lenar Whitney, who is running for Congress, has posted a video online where she calls global warming “the greatest deception in the history of mankind.” She goes on to claim that any 10-year old child can disprove global warming with “one of the simplest scientific devices known to man” while holding up what appears to be a Geratherm brand rectal thermometer. Representative Whitney is trying to argue–as she does throughout the ad–that global warming is not real and the earth has gotten colder since 2006. Her version of reality is based on bad information, cherry-picked data, political bias, and fundamental ignorance about both weather and climate. The truth is that the earth as a whole continues to get hotter over time, not colder–roughly 1.5 degrees hotter since 1880. To date, the hottest year on record is 2010, while 2013 ranks 4th. Furthermore, each of the top ten warmest years on record have occurred on or after 1998. All one has to do is look at a temperature graph since 1880 and it is clear that, despite short-term fluctuations due to weather patterns, global temperatures have climbed higher and higher over time. Denying this simple reality–which has been verified by temperature data from land-based weather stations, weather balloons, satellite measurements, sea and ocean temperature records, tree rings and various other sources–is certainly not conservative. Genuine conservatism is not dishonest and fact-averse, it is firmly grounded in reality and prudent decision-making. Our reality should include conservative solutions to problems like climate change, but that is unlikely as long as a vocal faction on the political right is more...
EPA’s recently proposed wetlands rule has taken a lot heat from special interests such as American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of Home Builders. They claim that the rule represents “federal overreach” and is a “land grab.” Some members of Congress are piling on too. The truth is that this rule simply restores the original interpretation of the Clean Water Act that stood for over 30 years, before a muddled 3-way Supreme Court ruling in 2006 created massive confusion and has contributed to an accelerated rate of wetland loss. The important thing for conservatives to understand is that wetland loss in this country has become a fiscal nightmare that imposes huge costs on the American taxpayer. CRS and Taxpayers for Common Sense wrote a joint op-ed on this topic that explains why fiscal conservatives must work hard to protect wetlands. It earlier this week in The Hill and is linked below. Please check it out. Fiscal Conservatives Should Love...
Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives is planning a vote this week on H.R. 1459, a bill sponsored by Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and six other Western anti-public land zealots that chips away at the Antiquities Act signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The Antiquities Act–which was introduced by a Republican, passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by a Republican President–gives the President authority to protect iconic historical, cultural, and natural sites as National Monuments. The law has served our nation well for over 100 years and been used by 16 Presidents (8 Republican and 8 Democrat). The sponsors of H.R. 1459 are promoting their bill as a way to undermine the authority of the current President. By making this about President Obama, they are banking on partisanship to deliver the needed number of Republican votes for passage. This is short-sighted in the extreme. A National Monument proclaimed by the President under the Antiquities Act can already be abolished by an act of Congress if it is unpopular. By limiting presidential authority on the front end, H.R. 1489 would equally hamper a future Republican President. The Antiquities Act was enacted at a time of mounting concern over loss of priceless natural and historic treasures in the West to uncontrolled looting and vandalism. By authorizing the President to protect nationally important resources, the Antiquities Act facilitates a swift response to threats. In its absence, these assets were often irreparably damaged before Congress could act. The Antiquities Act is a prudent and conservative law that ensures protection for those special places that are irreplaceable features...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced (02/28/14) its initiation of a process to decide whether to use its veto authority under the Clean Water Act to block construction of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mining project in southeastern Alaska. Although only the first step in the veto process, it shows EPA’s concern about the potential impacts of such a large-scale mine on our nation’s most productive fishery. That concern stems in part from EPA’s recently released Bristol Bay Assessment, which examined the potential impacts of the Pebble Mine on the area’s salmon fishery and determined that the massive mine would have devastating impacts. EPA estimates that constructing the mine and its surrounding infrastructure would destroy 24 to 94 miles of salmon-supporting streams and 1,300 to 5,350 acres of wetlands, ponds, and lakes. EPA also projects that under routine operations, polluted water from the mine site would adversely impact fish in an additional 13 to 51 miles of streams. The agency also concludes that a major spill would have catastrophic impacts on the fishery. Back in 2010, CRS and its sister organization (known at the time as Republicans for Environmental Protection) requested that EPA use its authority under section 404 of the Clean Water Act to veto the Pebble Mine. We noted that Bristol Bay, both as an economic engine and a vital natural resource, is a national treasure deserving of our most diligent stewardship. We believe that building the largest open-pit mine in North America (two miles wide and one-third mile deep), along with giant earthen dams that would hold an estimated 2.5 billion tons of sulfide waste rock and...
The big push by liberals and libertarians to legalize marijuana is troubling to many conservatives. Their concerns center on the anticipated social impacts of making a mind-altering drug more accessible–and its use more socially acceptable. Now there is another reason for concern. The burgeoning marijuana growing business in Northern California is becoming a serious threat to rivers and streams in the area—and a struggling salmon population that depends on them. Marijuana plantations are drawing enormous amounts of water from nearby waterways—up to 6 gallons per plant per growing day. With as many as 40,000 plants already being grown in some watersheds, it can really add up. These plantations, which are not well-regulated, have also been accused of polluting streams with pesticides, fertilizers and sediment. Marijuana growing is also very energy intensive, according to a 2012 report in the journal Energy Policy, each dining-table-size hydroponic growing unit consumes as much electricity as the average US home. With the Obama Administration, pot-friendly states, and liberal (or libertarian) lawmakers unlikely to target pot growers with new regulations or adequate enforcement of existing laws, protecting the waters and fisheries of states that have legalized marijuana will likely depend on how willing conservatives are to press the issue. Here is a recent article from NPR on this growing problem: California’s Pot Farms Could Leave Salmon Runs Truly...
