One would think that the Democratic Party city of Baltimore would have more pressing concerns, such as the ever increasing homelessness and crime, shootings, gangs, along with the loss of tax base as people and businesses move out of Baltimore proper. But, hey, Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun, I have suggestions
Dan Rodricks: Walking away from the climate crisis: Not OK, boomer
Among the many things I have tried but failed to understand about fellow baby boomers who voted for Donald Trump: why they support a president who walked away from leadership on climate change.
The big clock keeps ticking, and there’s evidence all around us that the future of human life on the planet is in jeopardy, yet tens of millions of our fellow Americans want a president who would rather go golfing than devote any time to climate change.
I wonder about those men and women in their 50s, 60s and 70s: Don’t they have children and grandchildren? Aren’t they concerned about the world we’re leaving them? Aren’t they troubled by the prospect of their grandsons and granddaughters facing environmental conditions even more extreme than those we see now?
Haven’t most boomers reached the ages when men and women become reflective about their lives?
Perhaps they’re thinking “why should I believe this when very few climate cultists practice what they preach?” Also, “I got mine, why shouldn’t younger folks have a chance of getting theirs”?
I include Trump in that. He was born in 1946, the first year of the baby boom. He has five children — his youngest, Barron, is only 14 — and 10 grandchildren. I realize Trump is concerned, most of all, with Trump. But even a narcissist must have moments of reflection that spawn thoughts about life and legacy. Even the most self centered “petro-masculine†guy must hope that his descendants live on and thrive. But to do that, they must inherit a world that is livable, and tomorrow’s world is not going to be livable unless we follow the advice of the world’s best climate scientists.
The “world’s best climate scientists” usually recommend taxing people and restricting their lives, rather than practicing what they preach. So, there’s that.
A year ago this week, more than 11,000 scientists in 153 countries issued a stark warning: The Earth “clearly and unequivocally faces a climate emergency†unless humans change our ways in a big way. “Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations, with few exceptions, we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this predicament,†the scientists said.
After 40 years, why hasn’t the Baltimore Sun given up its use of fossil fuels to gather, create, and disseminate the news? Why are they not running strictly on solar and wind?
You would think, as old as many of those senators are, they’d be concerned with life and legacy — the world their children and grandchildren will inherit — and do the right thing, no matter who the president is.
I’m not a baby boomer, just 53, but, I’ll tell you what, I’m all for slapping the Millennials and GenZ with all the taxes and life restrictions that the climate cult wants and these younger folks want. All embedded in law. Let’s see how they like it. Oh, and these taxes and such will apply to the Baltimore Sun.
Also, since this is about leaving the Climate Paris agreement, perhaps Dan can point to any 1st World nation that is actually succeeding with their pledge.
