by Daniel J. Gansle

Created on: April 22, 2008

On July 28, 2003, and then again on January 4, 2005, Republican Senator from Oklahoma James Inhofe boldly stood on the Senate floor and proclaimed that global warming is "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American public" and "an article of religious faith." Parroting this blanket rejection of scientific consensus on the issue, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh has been known to label global warming as "hysteric" and "unsupportable by the facts."

It truly comes as no surprise that conservatives such as Inhofe and Limbaugh would deny global warming. Representing an oil-producing state (Oklahoma), Inhofe's voter base is comprised of pro-business conservatives and oil industry lobbyists. It would be a major surprise if Inhofe validated global warming since it would essentially force his oil industry constituents to bend to governmental regulation, thus costing them millions to clean up their act.

Furthermore, denial of global warming allows oil companies to go to places like the Amazon rainforest and clear land for oil drilling. After all, if global warming is a hoax, then what's stopping companies from chopping down as many trees as is necessary? At least on the issue of Amazonian oil exploration, the less the American public knows is going on, the better for the oil companies.

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that warming of the global climate system is "unequivocal" and "very likey" caused by human activity. This Fourth Assessement was historical in the sense that it signaled a unifying consensus of the scientific community on the global warming issue.

The debate is rather amusing. Ask the indigenous Inuit of Canada's far northern latitudes whether global warming is taking place, and they'd likely give you a quizzical look as if to say, "Why of course it's real! We see the permafrost under our feet melting, which is causing our homes, roads, bridges, and air strips to crack. We see our food supplies diminish. We see changes in the weather. There can be no doubt; warming is taking place!"

But that's not all. Global warming is melting glaciers in Greenland and ice sheets in Antarctica. It is causing snowpack on the world's tallest mountain ranges to diminish, eventually causing entire communities to migrate due to the coming water crisis. It is affecting entire ecosystems, flora, and fauna. It is causing droughts and flooding in various nations.

I've heard all the excuses. Global warming is veiled Marxism; it's a political ruse; a nefarious plot to establish a socialistic new world order upon the world. But based on the facts we have today, global warming is real, it's happening, and soon it will affect all our lives directly in one way or the other. This is precisely why people around the world are beginning to wake up and view global warming in a completely new light.

Let's put aside our political divisions and focus on how we can achieve environmental sustainability in the face of today's critical energy and environmental problems.

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