Monday, June 01, 2015

The Miami Herald puts its editorial marker on climate change and sea level rise... by gimleteye

Hard to believe, the transition the Miami Herald editorial board has made on climate change. One could say it has been dragged silently kicking and wordlessly kicking to the facts. I am sure there was a long, intense debate at the Herald about whether or not to get ahead of the climate change curve. Even when Miami was identified by scientists as being the most threatened large city in the world, the Herald was slow to pick up the theme.

Today's OPED, "The End of Florida?" says differently. Perhaps we can expect a different Miami Herald from now on, as pulling the climate change thread leads to other policy areas where its voice could be louder, stronger, and more insistent. And indignant: Global Warming, the Foundation of Florida's Future.

Last night, there was a fascinating rebroadcast of a Nov. 2014 60 Minutes report, on the crisis in the world's groundwater supplies.

Along the same story line, on recent visits to India I've questioned locals about disappearing drinking water aquifers. Understand that most of India's 1.8 billion people depend on Himalaya snow melt. The snow melt not only fills rivers, it also recharges aquifers thousands of miles away. With global warming, the Himalaya snow pack is expected to be reduced by 70 percent in the next one hundred years at the same time that deep aquifer reserves of fresh water have been exhausted.

It is no exaggeration to say that around the world the fragile status quo -- disharmonious as it is -- will be subject to pressures we have never experienced. For example, what do 1.8 billion people do, when they have no access to fresh water? A lot of them die, but not before scratching and clawing with every weapon at their disposal.

Mark my words, the climate change deniers who control the US Congress and the Republican Party will dissolve like pick pockets into the crowd, much more quickly than sea levels will rise. That's another theme the Miami Herald OPED board is welcome to crib from us.

Along that line, Eye On Miami points out AGAIN that Marco Rubio's ignorance on climate change disqualifies him from serious consideration as a presidential candidate.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too late for the Herald for it to matter. Not only is it still a weak editorial that doesn't hold anyone or anything accountable, but in this community they appear to have no influence as their reach and power has so drastically diminished.

Johnny Appleseed said...

Have you been following their daily reporting on Rubio? Far from discounting him as a serious candidate, they're doing everything to make him look viable while they help deflect attacks from the left. The Herald has no choice on the climate change issue...but they're totally in the bag for him on most everything else. Look to out of town sources for any critical reporting.

Anonymous said...

I blame the new publisher- a chamber of commerce type - plus they seem to be rudderless with the corporate leadership fixated on the ever shrinking bottom line. Tragically, the Herald seems to think propping up the business community, development special interests, luxury real estate and upscale shopping is what's important to the community. And perpetuating the Ponzi scheme of local government. The directors seem to have lost touch with the working class roots of Miami. And have become irrelevant to any readers still out there hungry for the truth about local govt and politicians. Thank you bloggers and upstarts like New Tropic for trying to fill the void. Even so called business papers like Daily Business Review get it.