As We Squabble, a Great Tipping Point Begins

As climate skepticism rises and the old energy oligarchs throw millions upon millions battling clean energy legislation, one of the great predicted climate tipping points has apparently started: methane. Specifically, researchers have reported in Science that methane trapped under sub-arctic permafrost has started leech out, evidenced by significantly higher atmospheric concentrations of methane in these regions compared to the rest of the world. This is scary stuff. Methane even in limited amounts could begin to tip the scales significantly because, from a heat-trapping standpoint, it's 25 times more potent than CO2. The NYTimes has done a nice story summarizing the work.


But the realities of climate tipping points are fairly moot in this whole debate, which Grist has compared to the OJ Simpson trial. The climate skeptics will focus on attacking the process with which the climate science has been created over the past several decades rather than attacking the science itself. This may buy them enough time to screw us all over.

Gore Calls It As It Is

In a beautiful and eloquent op-ed in this Sunday's New York Times, Al Gore addresses the climate skeptics head-on and puts the politics of climate change in its historical context. The problem we now face is this:

From the standpoint of governance, what is at stake is our ability to use the rule of law as an instrument of human redemption.

You could probably substitute this quote for just about any environmental or social woe now faced by this country. It is literally a fight between those who believe that government and publicly collected tax dollars can actually be used to improve people's lives and those who simply say no to every politically crafted solution to our nation's problems.

The Military Gets It, Why Don't Our Politicians

I was just having lunch with a friend the other day who does a lot of energy efficiency related consulting work with the military. Rubs shoulders with generals and whatnot at West Point. He has been amazed in the past years at just how much the military gets it when it comes to energy issues. "These are the guys who are going to have to put their lives on the line the next time we go chasing oil," he said, "so it totally makes sense that they get it." How funny, we commented, that the American right would probably take any and all advice from the military brass when it comes to issues like weapons development, terrorism, etc., but they turn a deaf ear when it comes to clean energy (well that and repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, which military brass now support as well).

But the military is getting more and more vocal about clean energy issues. This story on Grist describes the efforts of veterans to advocate for clean energy legislation through an organization called Operation Free. The group plays to the very natural security consequences of the current energy system, but interestingly doesn't stray from wading into issues such as the so-called "controversy" over climate science. On a recent visit to the Operation Free homepage, I was greeted by this blog post regarding EPA's firm rebuttal of climate skeptics.

Of course we had the Department of Defense's Quadrennial Defense Review, released just this February, which has cited climate change as a national security threat for the first time ever. And there's the military's ongoing investment in the greening of its own operations. Outside of the EPA, you might be able to make the case that the Department of Defense is becoming the greenest branch of the federal government.

Could the message from the military – ostensibly one of the bastions of conservative thinking in the government – be any more clear? More importantly, what will it take for Tea Party America to hear the message?

Update
So Sen. Inhofe had some very helpful clarifying words on the above topic in terms of why the Pentagon would "play along" with a climate hoax. The man is truly delusional.

Keep in mind that the Quadrennial Review and all that comes out of the White House. That’s part of the administration. In the Pentagon, they’re good soldiers—they’ll do pretty much what will ingratiate the commander in chief. That’s what they’re supposed to do.

The Climategate Legal Backlash Begins

You should be able to hear your eyes rolling as you read this: the Climategate backlash has begun. Yes, based on allegations of an undetermined amount of sloppy science in the past three months, climate skeptics and political hacks are questioning EPA GHG rulings based on IPCC climate science that has taken decades to develop. The Washington Post reports on Virginia's latest attempts. Texas has challenged as well. It's going to get uglier out there.