Climate Change Risks Come Into Focus

Concerns about man-made climate change aren’t new; scientists have been studying the issue for decades. But for many people, the risks and impacts have suddenly come into sharper focus.

On October 6, 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its fifth report, created by 91 scientists from 40 nations. A United Nations summary states:

“There is alarming evidence that important tipping points, leading to irreversible changes in major ecosystems and the planetary climate system, may already have been reached or passed.”

On October 8, Yale economist William Nordhaus was awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on the costs of climate change. More on this below.

Then on October 10, Hurricane Michael struck the Florida panhandle, with sustained wind speeds of 155 mph. Based on barometric pressure data, it was the third-strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States, more powerful than Katrina or Andrew.

Around the world, individuals and governments are making efforts to reduce carbon emissions, to slow the rate of climate change. In June 2017, President Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Of 194 nations that signed the agreement, the US is the only one planning to exit.

Here in Falmouth, Massachusetts, are we doing our part to prevent climate change? Other Massachusetts towns have wind turbines running 24x7, generating clean energy. But Falmouth’s two turbines sit idle at the 300 acre wastewater facility, and town government is ignoring citizen-led legal efforts to get them re-started. This despite a resounding vote in 2013 against the $12 Million taxpayer burden to remove the turbines.

At the same time, Falmouth’s planning board is proposing new restrictions on solar installations at Fall Town Meeting. Article 7 would impose new limits on parking lot solar canopies. Article 8 proposes a “solar overlay district” but wouldn’t allow solar farms in industrial districts. And Article 11 would impose a one-year moratorium on all solar projects in business districts.

Falmouth’s situation brings to mind the words of the recent Nobel prize winner, economist William Nordhaus. Upon learning of the award, he said:

“The policies are lagging very, very far — miles, miles, miles behind the science and what needs to be done. It’s hard to be optimistic.”

Nevertheless, concerned citizens here in Falmouth, and in many places around the world, are determined to reduce climate change impacts, and are pushing elected officials to set policy accordingly.

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