 Dan Coats |
The ultra-busy tweeter-in-chief probably has not yet gotten to read page 23 of the “Worldwide Threat Assessment” report presented Jan. 29 by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, apparently one of Donald Trump’s “naïve” intelligence chiefs.
That’s too bad because page 23 deals with “environment and climate change,” which Trump unfortunately dismisses as a “Chinese hoax.”
From the Report:
“Global environmental and ecological degradation, as well as climate change, are likely to fuel competition for resources, economic distress and social discontent through 2019 and beyond. Climate hazards such as extreme weather, higher temperatures, droughts, floods, wildfires, storms, sea level rise, soil degradation, and acidifying oceans are intensifying infrastructure, health, and water/food security. Irreversible damage to ecosystems and habitats will undermine the economic benefits they provide, worsened by air, water, and marine pollution.
“Extreme weather events, many worsened by accelerating sea level rise, will particularly affect urban coastal areas in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Western Hemisphere. Damage to communication, energy and transportation infrastructure could affect low-lying military bases, inflict economic costs, and cause human displacement and loss of life.”
The intelligence chiefs believe the US will probably have to manage the impact of global human security challenges brought on by the negative effects of environmental degradation and climate change.
But it’s impossible for the US to manage the climate change crisis as long as its leader remains out-to-lunch about its potential threat.
The ridiculously high prices Americans are paying at the supermarket might influence how—or if—they vote in November.
At a moment in history when there are so many conflicts among peoples here and abroad, let us put our differences aside and celebrate this wonderful season in a spirit of togetherness.
The news announcing the death of Henry Kissinger, the last of the prevaricating politicians and so-called statesmen who stole my future and that of thousands of other young Americans, got me thinking about Walter Cronkite.
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