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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1248399
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1248399
I’ve lived near the Mexican border in the Sonoran Desert for 50+ years and I can attest to change in our climate over that time. It is hotter and also drier in non monsoon times but the monsoon, where we get most of our rain (latter half of July and all of August), is much less predictable. It used to give us about 8 inches. This year it’s about 4. Last year it was about 10.
Our average annual rainfall is about 10 inches. But that seems to be dropping. The small plot of grass I keep in our back yard used to sprout in mid April. Now it sprouts in late February.
The changing climate is really at the point that it’s undeniable, which is why conservative rhetoric has really shifted to “humans aren’t the cause” and “nothing we can do about it”. The intent is to stop any and all changes to how we get energy, with a side effect of undercutting scientific understanding by the population (pretty much a requirement for any Republican policy to succeed nowadays, as they all seem to go against scientific recommendations). It’s a lost cause on their part, they are losing the younger generation who can see the changes, see the effects of the warmer climate, and realizes that things are only going to get worse during their lifetimes.
Standing athwart the road to progress shouting NO! is very ineffective if there is a fire coming up the road towards you…eventually people are going to run you over and move forward, if only to save their lives or their children’s lives.