The Great Glacier Meltdown

On Saturday, Governor Hochul declared a state of emergency. The New York Times reported, “Multiple wildfires broke out on Long Island.” Yet, there were wildfires in Georgia. Wildfires raged in North Carolina and South Carolina too. Wildfires were a national emergency. The Times said “hotter temperatures driven by climate change, combined with drought, have played a role in making wildfires bigger and more destructive.” The worst effects of global warming were published in an international study titled “The Great Glacier Meltdown Uncovered.” “Glaciers around the world are melting at an accelerating pace.” Glaciers “lost 6542 billion tonnes of ice, contributing 18 mm to global sea-level rise.” The President, the Congress, and the business community ignore the meltdown. The Times reported, “Mr. Trump directed federal agencies to examine ways to bypass endangered species protections and other environmental regulations to ramp up timber production.”

President Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, “We have more coal than anybody… We have more oil and gas than anybody.” Yet, the fossil fuel industry donated $75 million to the President’s campaign. To fufill the wishes of his donors, it was necessary to lie. The US was not in a national energy emergency. The US was the biggest exporter in the world. The lie continued. The President talked about our “good, clean coal.” But, he didn’t mention the US is the world’s biggest polluter. He ignored the fatal consequences of pollution. Physicians for Social Responsibility wrote, “Coal contains trace amounts of mercury.” Coal enters the environment when it’s burned. In the U.S., “317,000 and 631,000 children are born,” every year “with blood mercury levels high enough to,” “cause lifelong loss of intelligence.” Pollution was the second leading global risk factor for death in children and adults. The United Nations Children’s Fund reported “air pollution accounted for 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021.” Air pollution impacts almost every person on the planet. “Every day almost 2000 children under five years die because of health impacts linked to air pollution.”

The House Republicans have a solution. They unveiled a spending bill that increases military spending by $6 billion. It’s a huge handout to the Pentagon even though they failed seven audits in a row. To be fair, the spending bill gives $500 million worth of groceries to low-income women and children. Yet, Kids Count Data Center reported “16% of all children in the United States — 11.4 million kids total — are living in poverty.” Washington chose to spend more taxpayer money on the Pentagon than on poor children. The Economic Policy Institute wrote “House Republicans approved a budget resolution,” “including $880 billion in cuts that will inevitably fall on Medicaid.” The President and Congress have proclaimed “Low taxes for the rich and for corporations is the highest legislative priority.” At the same time, they “cut federal programs that are utterly vital to the incomes and security of vulnerable families.” Amid a glacial meltdown, the government chooses profits for the few over humanity.

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