If they fail, Paul Krugman says, we will know who to blame: the GOP.
Future historians — if there are any future historians — will almost surely say that the most important thing happening in the world during December 2015 was the climate talks in Paris. True, nothing agreed to in Paris will be enough, by itself, to solve the problem of global warming. But the talks could mark a turning point, the beginning of the kind of international action needed to avert catastrophe.
Then again, they might not; we may be doomed. And if we are, you know who will be responsible: the Republican Party.
Krugman is a partisan, but given that less than 3% of Republican representatives in Congress accept the reality of global warming, and many — including all the leading candidates for President — vociferously mock the idea, it’s hard to disagree with his political judgement.
So here’s a weird fact: at least 97% of climate scientists accept the consensus view that global warming is anthropogenic (NASA) . And 97% of GOP representatives in Congress reject that consensus (Polifact).
Why would any political party explicitly choose a climate policy of risking doom? Seriously. What’s the upside?
Oh. That.
Kit Stolz 