Trump Fails to Protect Mother Earth

On Thursday, President Trump glibly announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement negotiated by former President Obama in 2015.

Trump made the announcement to fulfill a campaign promise, but failed to mention that we would be following the withdrawal protocol in the accord that will take three to four years to complete. That means we can change course by voting for the environment in 2018 and, more importantly, 2020 before the damage becomes too permanent.

The reactions from all but those in fossil fuel industry pockets were universally horrible. The clear winners were climate change deniers like Scott Pruitt, Trump’s head of the US EPA and shadow president Steve Bannon, whose primary goal is to dismantle the government.

Trump’s decision relies upon severely discredited theories on the impact of climate change, a deeply flawed belief that the way to economic prosperity is found by using more coal and oil and ignores the clear scientific consensus on the environmental and public health consequences of failing to reduce carbon emissions.

Pandering to a small base of his supporters, Trump ignored at his peril the majority of American voters who support the Paris Accord. A November poll by George Mason and Yale universities shows 70% of registered voters say we should stay in the Paris Accord and only 13% contend we should leave.

Foreign leaders around the planet condemned the decision. Trump ignored our global allies pleas to remain in the international effort to save the planet. Unwittingly, he turned over leadership on climate change to the Chinese who have used their economic engine to ramp up production of renewable energy technologies and are poised to take over solar panel production, which just happens to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the American economy. China’s leaders are already stepping into the global leadership vacuum Trump’s decisions are creating and exerting all the leverage their economic engine can produce to extend their influence. Trump even ignored the letter from a noted scientist who also happens to be Pope Francis urging his continued support to reduce the effects of climate change.

American businesses understand the climate change science and the economic opportunities it provides. In January, 630 business leaders and investors like DuPont, Hewlett Packard, Pacific Gas and Electric signed an open letter to then president-elect Trump urging him to reject climate denier theories, to continue investment in a low-carbon economy and to not withdraw from the Paris Accord. As Trump was finalizing his decision, other prominent business leaders such as Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla’s Elon Musk and GE Chief Jeff Imelt, all urged him to stay in the effort to fight climate change. Musk and Disney leader Robert Iger resigned from Trump’s business advisory council in protest over the decision. US farmers, already reeling from increasingly bad weather due to climate change, stand to lose even more from Trump’s decision to change policy.

More enlightened state and local leaders also stepped into the breach, vowing to continue the Paris Accord guidelines to reduce carbon emissions. Mayors from New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Boston all vowed to continue their environmental protection efforts. Over 60 mayors wrote an open letter to Trump urging him to stay in the Paris agreement. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has joined with other mayors, state governors and business leaders and plans to donate $15 million to the United Nations Climate Secretariat to continue its work on reducing global climate emissions in anticipation of Trump’s cutbacks to UN funding. California Governor Jerry Brown has already committed to continuing to use renewable energy sources and to reduce carbon emissions.

Not unexpectedly, climate scientists and environmental groups that have been sounding the alarm over greenhouse gas emissions, rising seas, vanishing glaciers and polar ice caps, rising temperatures, increasingly violent weather patters from hurricanes to tornadoes and other environmental catastrophes for decades also joined the condemnation of Trump’s decision.

Besides gearing up to defeat the climate change deniers in the White House and halls of Congress in the upcoming elections, there is a lot we can do locally to combat the looming disasters caused by carbon emissions. Buying food grown locally by small farm entrepreneurs will cut down on carbon emissions from food trucked over long distances. Conserving energy with efficient appliances and lighting, buying electric vehicles and installation of renewable energy technology in homes and businesses are good places to start. Join an environmental group and work to protect our clean air and water. Go to politician’s offices and town halls and demand they stand up for the environment by supporting bills to combat climate change. 

Our economy will react favorably to the need for technological changes to protect the environment. There is no Planet B to head to if we don’t protect her.

Waring R. Fincke is a retired attorney and serves as a guardian for the elderly and disabled.

Get ready for the holidays

I'm done with election coverage. Here's today's thoughts on what's ahead.

Real Holiday Cheer
Its not too early

With the election almost over, many are starting to think about the upcoming holidays. Some big box stores are already selling Christmas decorations and I expect carols to replace grocery store background music any day. I can remember the good ol’ days when these things did not happen until well after Thanksgiving.

Our holiday seasons have become little more than accelerated opportunities for retailers to sell us more stuff. We already have way too much stuff and hardly need more to prove that friends and family care about us.  Yes, I understand that many retailers make their entire annual profit during the holidays, but that does not justify our societal conspicuous consumption.

Most year-end holiday celebrations pay lip service to noble religious values and practices. Thanksgiving celebrates peaceful pilgrims’ first meals with first Americans. Christmas proclaims the birth of a savior and goodwill to all of humankind. Jewish Hanukkah traditions mark the defeat of those who would prohibit the practice of their faith. Kwanza celebrates the growth and importance of community. Others similarly embrace our better selves as we wish them to be.

Unfortunately, our commercial drive has subsumed these noble ideas with commands to buy more in order to give more so we can show how much more we care. Thanksgiving has become an excuse to over-eat in preparation for daylong football binging, perhaps to mask the centuries of resource wars waged against those first hosts.

If we are to truly celebrate the end of another successful year and pay due respect to the religious beliefs we hold dear, let me suggest ways that are closer to what was intended.

Given the importance of the holidays to our children, here are ways to help kids appreciate their true value. Give them something they need like clothes, a new bike or another item that helps them keep moving. Next, give them books to read, art supplies or a musical instrument that nourishes their creative spirits. Finally, take them with you to perform some kind of community service to show them the true meaning of your beliefs.

Community service is important for us adults too. It puts your values into practice. Donate to the Full Shelf Food Pantry or the Senior Center. Serve meals to the homeless or elderly through your church or service organization. Give gifts of clothes or food or books to the Gingerbread House or Family Promise. Donate blood to the Red Cross. Donate warm coats to one of the various coat drives held by fire departments and local businesses. Take a donation to the Washington County Humane Society, Interfaith Caregivers or the others who serve people in need in our communities. It never hurts to do good work for those less fortunate.

If you still feel compelled to shop, patronize local small businesses. They need the revenue much more than those who own the big box stores. Shopping small and local keeps your money in our local economy where it does the most good. It will help keep your neighbors employed and make more money available to others locally as well. The same holds true for holiday meals. Eat at locally owned restaurants that serve locally grown and raised food. Find a local farmer and buy a CSA. Stay away from the chains and processed foods that have traveled too many miles to your table.
Pay particular attention to the folks in our community who have to work during these holidays. Send cards to local fire and law enforcement departments along with hospital emergency rooms thanking them for their dedication and willingness to be away from their families while we spend time with ours. The Red Cross sends cards and packages to those serving overseas in the military as well. Send some cards and packages for them too.

Spend time with the elderly. Seniors don’t need more stuff, but many do need services. Learn what they may need and help them find the resources to meet those needs. If you know someone older, invite them to share a meal and some of their stories. Show your kids how to respect and care for elderly family members and neighbors. You might just learn something new in the process.

We can all make the upcoming holidays better for everyone if we just take time to care.

Waring R. Fincke is a retired attorney and vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Washington County.