Climate change is real

Climate change is real. Record snow storms in April are the latest example of changing and unpredictable weather patterns. Climate change deniers purport that, because it is cold when they think it should be warm, there is in fact no such thing as global warming. This is false narrative supported by those like Jim Bridenstein, the new political appointee to lead NASA, or Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator, as a way to discredit science-based evidence and halt action to combat climate change. Denying scientific facts may suit a political agenda, but it does not stop them from being true.

In Wisconsin, Governor Walker has consistently been opposed to renewable energy technologies, eliminated scientists from the DNR and scrubbed the term “climate change” from the DNR website. This is absurd. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that scientific evidence of global warming is unequivocal and human activity is the primary cause.

Climate change affects our local communities in real and tangible ways. Droughts and unpredictable weather events make it difficult for our farmers to maximize their crop yield, air pollution threatens the health of residents in our big cities and families across America are finding it harder to access clean, safe drinking water. This change in our climate has not just affected humans. Wisconsin’s state bird, the robin, went through a crisis during the unexpected snowstorms. As the migration geared up, birds arrived to Wisconsin only to find nothing to eat. Starving birds were sadly reliant on a frozen, snow covered ground for sustenance in the middle of April.

Wisconsin used to be a national leader in protecting our natural world. Preserving our outdoor heritage should not be a value of one political party or another. Together, we must work to reduce our energy consumption, prevent harmful toxins from entering our rivers and lakes and combat the spread of invasive species. The time for denying the facts and delaying action has long since passed.