Earlier this year, my wife and I went to Antarctica. What I saw blew my mind. I had not understood how big it is – or perhaps I should say how big it is this year. Due to climate change, Antarctica is now melting faster than any other time in history.
During the next decade or two, this melting will change North Carolina in many ways including threatening food production and jobs in coastal areas, flooding of highways along the seacoast, and dramatic rise in the cost of property insurance in North Carolina flood zones to name just a few.
Last week, I showed you an image of the melting of the ice in the Arctic area around the North Pole over the past 40 years.
The 1980 image shows twice as much Arctic ice as the 2020 version. If you are under 40, the North Pole has shrunk 50% during your life.
Did you know that “Global Warming” and “Climate Change” mean two different things?
I am the oldest of six kids. When I was growing up in Lakewood, Ohio, our (large) extended family would gather to share Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, reconnect with uncles, aunts, and cousins, and drive my mom nuts with the bedlam created by a dozen or so primary school aged kids racing our small house around playing hide-and-seek.
Before the gathering, some of us kids were a bit intimidated by the arrival of the not-often-seen uncles, aunts, and cousins.
My mom sat us down and said we did not need to be shy with them – just get the conversation started by asking them a question like “What do you think about the weather”, and then just sit and listen. “Everyone will feel comfortable, and get to know one another again”, she said.
That would not work today, would it? Before long, tension-filled discussions will emerge about whether “Global Warming” or “Climate Change” is real.
The discussions will be messy in part because few on either side of the argument know what the terms “Global Warming” or “Climate Change” mean.
Older Americans are driving their kids crazy by ignoring Climate Change
On one of the most significant public policy issues of our time, the major split in our society is not between political parties – it is between the young and the old, regardless of political party affiliation.
The issue they disagree on influenced by their age is Climate Change.
Recent surveys show twice as many young adults aged 25 – 41 think America should phase out fossil fuels, compared to the around-60-year-old ‘Boomer’ generation.[1]
Another example: right at 60% of the younger group are in favor of phasing out gas-powered vehicles, while 60% of the older group opposes that.[2]
I believe that one potential cause of this age-related belief system is the percentage of your life you have lived during which you have actually seen the evidence emerge.
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