The return of the ‘know nothings’

By Lorenzo A. Cañizares

After watching the debate on the House Bill on climate change, Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize economist and New York Times columnist, referred to the Republican opposition when he wrote, “You didn’t see people who’ve thought hard about a crucial issue, and are trying to do the right thing. What you saw, instead, were people who have no interest in the truth. They don’t like the political and policy implications of climate change, so they’ve decided not to believe in it — and they’ll grab any argument, no matter how disreputable, that feeds their denial.”

The fact is that these elected officials are doing the bidding for Big Oil and Big Coal. It is part of their know-nothingness to deny reality. Some Republicans, including Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) have publicly expressed skepticism that global warming is both real and a product of human activity. In spite of the know-nothing’s opposition, the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate change bill. It was a politically remarkable achievement — although 212 members of the House voted against it. Most of these House Members who voted against the bill rejected the notion that we have to do something about greenhouse gases and eventually alternative sources of energy. It is also fair to point out that 44 Democrats voted against the bill. They mostly represent districts that rely heavily on coal for electricity and manufacturing for jobs.

These lawmakers get paid handsomely with wonderful benefits to know a bit about the society that we live in, to make decisions that affect our lives. They should be familiar with the latest Energy Information Administration report which indicates Peak Oil, which is described as the end of cheap and reliable energy, may be closer at hand than previously believed. And if we add the expected rise in consumption by China and India, it’s clear that we have to be seriously concerned about increasing our capacity for alternative sources of energy.

The issue of climate change also gains importance as we discuss our dwindling supplies of oil. Jerry Melillo, director of the Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., says, “As two thirds of the nation’s oil and gas imports come through the Gulf of Mexico, vital energy and transportation infrastructure will be at risk with expected sea level rise and associated storm surge.”

The know-nothings’ irresponsibility grows geometrically when we realize that a recently released government study on climate change, started during the Bush administration, has asserted that the debate about global warming should be over. This report, written by top government scientists, warned that climate change already is wreaking devastating changes on the United States, threatening the Southwest with blistering heat, the Atlantic coast with dangerous hurricanes and the Midwest with flooding.

One of the scientists involved in writing the report, Jane Lubchenco, Commerce Under Secretary, says, “Much of the foot-dragging in addressing climate change is a reflection of the perception that climate change is way down the road, it’s in the future, and that it only affects remote parts of the planet, this report…provides the concrete scientific information that says unequivocally that climate change is happening now, and it is happening in our own back yards and it affects the kind of things people care about.”

But as the know-nothings look for excuses not to have to face the challenge of climate change and alternative sources of energy, and as we prepare to take our first steps towards mandating that power companies generate more electricity from renewable sources, China is already way ahead, investing billions to remake itself into a green energy superpower. Keith Bradsher, of The New York Times, writes, “This year China is on track to pass the United States as the world’s largest market for wind turbines — after doubling wind power capacity in each of the last four years. State-owned power companies are competing to see which can build solar plants fastest, though these projects are much smaller than the wind projects. And other green energy projects, like burning farm waste to generate electricity, are sprouting up.” He adds, “In China, coal remains the biggest energy source and is almost certain to stay that way, but the rise of renewable energy, especially wind power is helping to slow China’s growth in emissions of global warming gases.”

But back to the know-nothings… not only do they reject climate science, but they also intentionally distort the results of studies of the bill’s economic impact, which all suggest that the cost will be relatively low. Paul Krugman writes, “The deniers are choosing, willfully, to ignore the threat of climate change, placing future generations of Americans in grave danger, simply because it’s in their political interest to pretend that there’s nothing to worry about. If that’s not betrayal, I don’t know what is.”

The Climate Change bill is now going to the Senate. President Obama, as with the health care proposal, has refused to go into specific details of the energy bill. But he has said that his bottom line for energy and climate change legislation included meaningful restrictions in heat-trapping gas emissions, strong incentives for energy efficiency, protections for consumers and businesses against spikes in energy costs, and deficit neutrality.

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, also adds, “Strong legislation will also revitalize the manufacturing sector and create the industries of tomorrow. These new clean energy jobs — building wind turbines, installing solar panels, renovating buildings to make them more energy efficient, constructing the smart grid — are jobs that can’t be outsourced.”

Let’s not allow the know-nothings to continue the destruction of our beautiful nation.

Lorenzo Cañizares is a Cuban-American labor-union specialist at the Pennsylvania State Education Association. He lives in Harrisburg, Pa.