Heartland Institute Finally Acknowledges Climate Change

I think we’ve reached a tipping point on perception of climate change. For years (presumably like most state representatives) I’ve been receiving unsolicited issues of Environment & Climate News from the conservative Heartland Institute. For years they have been denying that climate change is rapidly occurring and I usually quickly recycle their latest edition of climate change denial news.

This week’s frontpage headline gave me pause: New Report Documents Beneficial Impacts of Global Warming. The good news is that this extremely conservative publication is finally acknowledging climate change and global warming. The bad news is that they think it’s a good thing.

Yes, according to a recent report from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, global warming is real, but it’s all good: “The ongoing rise in the air’s CO2 content is causing a great greening of the Earth. All across the planet, the historical increase in the atmosphere’s CO2 concentration has stimulated vegetative productivity…. Farmers and others who depend on rural livelihoods for income are benefitting…”

(Seems to me I’ve been hearing that some places have been suffering historic droughts while other places are being deluged by torrential rains or other extreme weather, but obviously I haven’t been looking on the bright side.)

Climate change will even reduce human deaths because, “Cold temperatures kill more people than warm temperatures.” So according to the report, “More lives are saved by global warming.” 

I guess it’s all how you look at it as to whether the impacts are beneficial or not. Global warming and rising oceans may submerge Hampton Beach (and thousands of other coastal communities) but my home in Concord may increase in value as it becomes beachfront property.

Seriously, after many years of denial at least the Heartland Institute is beginning to acknowledge climate change and global warming. Now if only they would acknowledge that it’s a bad thing, and urge steps to slow it down, instead of cheering it on.

We all have only one planet to live on.