high road climate crisis letter

8/14/2019 High Road Climate Crisis Letter

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Dear Elected Officials:

As moral actors, we each have the responsibility to become informed

about the issues that have the greatest impact on those who inhabit our

world, now and in the future always with an eye toward what each of us

can do to help achieve solutions.

We are trying in every way we know to do ourpart and pledge to

continue to do all we can to learn and act in a way that will help prevent

needless suffering for others, including young people and later generations.

We implore you to doyourpart as an elected official. You have a

special duty, which you accepted when you became an elected official and

which you carry with you every day. Your office carries with it a sacred

public trust. What you do impacts others, including those not yet born.

Your decisions, particularly in connection with the climate crisis, will

impact the quality of life for generations to come, our local economy, our

national security, and, indeed, the habitability of our planet. You owe it to

those you serve, and you owe it to the future, to make certain those decisions

are well-informed.

What we are conveying in this letter is not a matter of belief,

prejudice, or pre-existing notions. We are basing what we say here on well-

established science and on fundamental principles of morality.

Even if you dont presently believe the science, please ask

yourselves: What if we really are facing, in the absence of urgent and

effective action, an irreversible catastrophic global climate crisis? Will the


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record reflect that you helped solve it or will it reflect that you helped

bring about the tragic consequences? In the end, it all comes down to a

grave moral decision.

Today we face the greatest threat ever in human history to the

inhabitants of Earth. The spread of misinformation, the refusal to act in the

face of overwhelming proof of a climate crisis, and the profiteering in the

short-term at the expense of global catastrophe during the lives of our

children and grandchildren, equates to an historic moral abdication leading

to human tragedies and species extinctions of unprecedented scope.

Never has there been a more crucial time for people of good will,

compassion, and care for our children and later generations to come together

in taking effective action to prevent irreversible, catastrophic climate

disruption. If you will not join in that crucial effort, we urge you to get out

of the way so someone else can take informed, responsible action.

Those who fail to take action both in elective office and elsewhere

are creating a far more dangerous planet for our children and grandchildren.

In partial fulfillment ofourresponsibilities, we are joining together to

demand that you and other elected representatives take effective action to

dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. We will

not tolerate inaction and will fight for our children and later generations in

every way possible. Too much is at stake for anyone to stand by any longer.

For those who have been confused by the intensive campaign of

misinformation, please consider that leading international scientific bodies,

national science academies worldwide, the United States Academy of

Sciences, and Utahs top scientists are allin agreement: We are facing a

climate crisis caused by the burning of coal, oil, and gas and if we continue

along this path, tragedy and untold misery will result to billions of people,


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including, very likely, our own descendants. Even former President George

W. Bush, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and UK Prime Minister

Gordon Brown are in agreement: Climate change is a serious problem and

the US needs to help lead toward solutions by vastly reducing the emissions

of greenhouse gases.1

The state of the science is astoundingly consistent:

The largest scientific collaboration in history, the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has been

unequivocal in its findings that the mean temperature of Earth

has increased substantially due to human actions, specifically

the burning of fossil fuels coal, oil and gas and that a failure

to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions will result in

immense, catastrophic consequences for our Earth and its

inhabitants.2

The US National Academy of Sciences has stated:

[Mean global] [t]emperatures have already risen 1.4 F since

the start of the 20th centurywith much of this warmingoccurring in just the last 30 years and temperatures will likelyrise at least another 2, and possibly more than 11, over the

1 See, e.g., Bush Says Global Climate Change Serious Problem, Agence France-Presse (June 7, 2005)(Bush told a press conference afterwards, Ive always said its a serious long-term issue that needs to bedealt with . . . . . . Bush said that the United States will have to change its high energy consuming habitsand move away from a hydrocarbon society.); Climate change fight cant wait, BBC News, October31, 2006 (Tony Blair said the Stern Review showed that scientific evidence of global warming wasoverwhelming and its consequences disastrous. . . And Chancellor [now Prime Minister] Gordon Brownpromised the UK would lead the international response to tackle climate change. . . Mr. Blair said theconsequences for the planet of inaction were literally disastrous. This disaster is not set to happen in

some science fiction future many years ahead, but in our lifetime, he said.)2 Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, An Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increasesin global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global averagesea level. p. 30. Global GHG emissions due to human activities have grown since pre-industrial times,with an increase of 70% between 1970 and 2004. p. 36. Most of the observed increase in global averagetemperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHGconcentrations. p. 39. Continued GHG emissions at or above current rates would cause further warmingand induce many changes in the global climate system during the 21st century that would very likely belarger than those observed during the 20th century. p. 45.)


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next 100 years. This warming will cause significant changes insea level, ecosystems, and ice cover, among other impacts. Inthe Arctic, where temperatures have increased almost twice asmuch as the global average, the landscape and ecosystems arealready changing rapidly. Most scientists agree that thewarming in recent decades has been caused primarily by humanactivities that have increased the amount of greenhouse gases inthe atmosphere. . . . Human actions over the next few decadeswill have a major influence on the magnitude and rate of futurewarming. Large, disruptive changes are much more likely ifgreenhouse gases are allowed to continue building up in theatmosphere at their present rate. However, reducinggreenhouse gas emissions will require strong national andinternational commitments, technological innovation, and

human willpower.3

Dozens of other nations science academies are in agreement. For

instance, in a recent statement on ocean acidification, 70 science

academies, including the US National Academy of Sciences,

expressed their alarm that at current CO2 emission rates, all coral

reefs and polar ecosystems will be severely affected by 2050 or

earlier, with significant reductions in marine food supplies, and

that such acidification is irreversible on timescales of at least tens

of thousands of years. According to those 70 science academies,

large and rapid reductions of global CO2 emissions are needed

globally by at least 50% by 2050.4

Scientists in Utah are also in agreement. Eighteen BYU scientists

recently joined in a letter urging legislators not to manipulate thescientific evidence to suit any political agenda and expressing

agreement with the scientific consensus view that climate is

3 Understanding and Responding to Climate Change Highlights of National Academies Reports (2008Edition), p. 2.4 IAP Statement on Ocean Acidification (June 2009), The Interacademy Panel on International Issues, p.1.


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changing and is significantly influenced by human activity.5 As

part of Governor Huntsmans efforts to determine the facts about

climate change, some of the states top scientists joined in a 2007

report they entitled The Scientific Consensus, emphasizing as

follows:

There is no longer any scientific doubt that the Earths averagesurface temperature is increasing and that changes in oceantemperature, ice and snow cover, and sea level are consistentwith this global warming. . . Based on extensive scientificresearch, there is very high confidence that human-generatedincreases in greenhouse gas concentrations are responsible formost of the global warming observed during the past 50 years.6

When leading international scientific panels, the science academies of

every industrialized nation, and Utahs top scientists all agree about the

nature, cause, and tragic scope of the climate crisis, leadership at every level

is required to achieve massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The

lives of billions of people are at risk; our nations security is at risk; the

continued existence of thousands of species is at risk; and the habitability of

our planet is at risk.

The good news is that we can make a difference if we act decisively.

And it can pay off economically. While some Utah legislators are seeking to

renege on Utahs commitments to the Western Climate Initiative, it was5 Open letter to the Utah Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee, Governor, U.S. Senators andCongressmen, p. 2, signed by Summer Rupper, Ph.D., Barry Bickmore, Ph.D., Rick Gill, Ph.D., DavidLong, Ph.D., Scott Ritter, Ph.D., Sam St. Clair, Ph.D., Steve Nelson, Ph.D., Jani Radebaugh, Ph.D.,

William Christensen, Ph.D., Ron Harris, Ph.D., Bart Kowallis, Ph.D., Alan Mayo, Ph.D., Tom Morris,Ph.D., Adam Rupper, Ph.D., Byron Adams, Ph.D., Matthew Bekker, Ph.D., Eric Christiansen, Ph.D., andMichael Dorais, Ph.D.6 Climate Change and Utah: The Scientific Consensus, September 2007, Executive Summary, p.1.(Authored by Jim Steenburgh, Ph.D. (Chair, Department of Meteorology, University of Utah), DavidBowling, Ph.D., (Department of Biology, University of Utah), Tim Garrett, Ph.D. (Department ofMeteorology, University of Utah), Rob Gillies, Ph.D. (Utah Climate Center, Utah State University), JohnHorel, Ph.D. (Department of Meteorology, University of Utah), Randy Julander (Snow Survey Supervisor,Natural Resources Conservation Service), David Long, Ph.D. (Director, Brigham Young University Centerfor Remote Sensing), Thomas Reichler, Ph.D. (Department of Meteorology, University of Utah).


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recently reported that Massachusetts earned $50 million from its

participation in the cap and trade program under the Regional Greenhouse

Gas Initiative.7

Instead of the sort of informed, innovative leadership found in some

other states and cities,8 as well as several nations, including China,9 many of

Utahs legislators deny the obvious and refuse to be part of the solution to

our climate crisis.

Have they bothered to read the detailed study commissioned by the

Park City Foundation, entitled Climate Change in Park City: An

Assessment of Climate, Snowpack, and Economic Impacts? If they did,

they would find that climate change is threatening Utahs entire ski industry,

resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in

revenues.10

7 Massachusetts Earned $50 Million from Cap+Trade in 2009, http://cleantechnica.com/tag/cap-and-trade/8 See, e.g. Michael Northrop, A clean energy gold rush, The Miami Herald, February 11, 2010 ([T]he

clean energy market will be worth $2 trillion in 10 years the biggest economic development opportunityever quantified and its up for grabs. Those who will cash in . . . will be countries with smart policies.)9 See, e.g., China and the US This house believes that China is showing more leadership than America inthe fight against climate change, http://economist.com/debate/days/view/417.See also Northrop,supra(China . . . has moved swiftly to create goals and policies to capture market share, announcing recentlythat it will generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and that it intends to becomethe worlds largest exporter of clean energy technologies. China is also mobilizing hundreds of billions ofdollars using pricing policy to seize control of these markets. Its working. Five years ago Chinaessentially had no presence in wind or solar manufacturing. Today, China is the largest maker of windturbines and solar panels.)10 Climate Change in Park City: An Assessment of Climate, Snowpack, and Economic Impacts,September 29, 2009 (Stratus Consulting Inc.) (The ski tourism industry in Utah is an important part of theregional economy, generating an estimated 19,323 jobs and $416,936,054 in total earnings of Utahs

workers in the 2005-06 ski season. . . [C]limate change impacts to snowpack at Utah ski resorts can have asignificant impact on the regional economy in the future. . . Park Citys climate will change substantially asa result of increased atmospheric GHG concentrations. Temperatures are predicted to rise and precipitationamount, timing, intensity are predicted to change. As a result, total snowpack and snow coverage will bereduced, the ski season will be shorter, and less of Park City Mountain Resort will be skiable. . . [P]rojecteddecreases in snowpack will have severe economic consequences for the region. By 2030, the estimateddecrease in snowpack is estimated to result in $120 million in lost output. . . . By 2050, the potentialimpacts range from $160.4 million in lost output, $27.2 million in lost earnings, and 1,520 lost jobs (lowemissions scenario) to $392.3 million in lost output, $66.6 million in lost earnings, and 3,717 lost jobs(high emissions scenario).)
http://economist.com/debate/days/view/417http://economist.com/debate/days/view/417


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Those who fail to act, in Utah and elsewhere throughout our nation,

are harming our children and later generations, as well as undermining our

nations security, as described in a Pentagon-commissioned study, which

concluded that climate change could pose a greater threat to our national

security than terrorism.11

This is a call for each of us to demand informed, responsible action at

every level of government, in the business community, and in each of our

individual lives and for each of us to act consistently with our deepest

moral obligations to avoid preventable suffering for others, including later

generations.

There is no greater moral imperative at this time in human history

than to do all we can to reduce the accumulating carbon blanket in our

atmosphere. Let us each do all we can and no longer allow those who hold

elective office to betray our sacred roles as stewards for the future.

Let us hearken to the words of Alfred Russel Wallace in 1903:

It has been the consideration of our wonderful atmosphere in its

various relations to human life, and to all life, which has compelledme to this cry for the children and for outraged humanity . . . Leteverything give way to this. . . Vote for no one who says it cant be

done. Vote only for those who declare It shall be done.

Alfred Russel Wallace, Mans Place in the Universe

11Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United

States National Security (October 2003)

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