The Supreme Court’s Ruling to Sabotage the EPA was Reckless and Dangerous

Republicans Don’t Seem to Understand they Breathe the Same Air that Liberals Do

What exactly is an environmentalist? Is there anyone that can live without a healthy planet? As far as I know, Democrats and Republicans are breathing the same air. We swim in the same lakes and eat fish from the same oceans. There isn’t a red sea and a blue sea. Well, okay, there is the Red Sea, but I digress.

Many Republicans are cheering because the conservative majority on the Supreme Court knee-capped the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It ruled that President Biden’s EPA had little authority to regulate power plant emissions. Not only does this ruling make it more difficult to curtail the warming of our planet, but it also will lead to increases in asthma, lung cancer and other respiratory ailments.

But none of that apparently matters to right wing Republicans because they accomplished their only goal, which is upsetting liberals. They are giddy because, as a study released in February shows, feelings of helplessness in addressing climate change has “caused anxiety and stress”, which is increasingly harming peoples’ mental health. I’m assuming most of those having nervous breakdowns over rising sea levels are Democrats, given that most conservatives are voting for politicians who are exacerbating the problem.

In the beginning of this crisis, we called it “global warming.” We were forced to drop that name because every time there was a cold snap Republicans would foolishly scream, “See, it’s not getting warmer, I’m wearing a coat.”

In 2014, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) brought a snowball onto the Senate floor as proof that climate change was a hoax.

“We keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record. I ask the chair, ‘you know what this is?’ It’s a snowball, from just outside here. So, it’s very, very cold out. It’s very unseasonable.”   

Thanks to geniuses like Senator Inhofe, we had to scrap the name global warming. Apparently, the concept was too sophisticated for Republicans, and they became confused when summer turned to fall. So, the name was altered, and we settled on “climate change”, although “climate catastrophe” would be more appropriate.

Despite right wing screwballs with snowballs, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report that Earth’s global average surface temperature in 2021 tied with 2018 as the sixth warmest on record. The past eight years are collectively the warmest years since modern record-keeping began in 1880.  

The world's oceans are also suffering from climate change. They endured  their warmest and most acidic levels on record in 2021, according to a study by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Their report states, “It is a record that keeps getting broken year after year. And this could have a major impact on the Earth’s climate.”

That’s not the kind of record you want to break, like winning a hotdog eating contest. On the plus side, the clams will soon be steamed and ready to eat by the time you get them into your boat.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the planet has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius. If it reaches 1.5 degrees, it will cause cataclysmic heat waves, increased extreme weather events and widespread species extinction.  

“The science is incredibly clear,” said Kristina Dahl, a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Our failure to do even this small part as a nation is incredibly frustrating.”

It’s perplexing that more Republicans aren’t concerned about our future. Perhaps, they own real estate in a clandestine right-wing colony on Mars they’re not telling us about? If that’s not the case, they’re going to suffer as much, or more, than the rest of us.  

The American West, which is primarily Red States, is warming faster than the rest of the country, showing a 2.7 degrees (1.5 Celsius) increase. Summer temperatures in Reno have risen 10.9 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, since 1970, making it the fastest warming city in the nation, The Washington Post reports.

Those raging infernos in California? Most of them are happening in rural areas that vote Republican. Lake Mead, in rural Nevada, is the nation’s largest reservoir supplying electricity to 350,000 homes and drinking water to about 25 million people. It has shrunk to about a quarter of its former size. Newsweek reports that if conditions don’t change, the once robust lake will become a “dead pool”.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 20 percent of land in the western U.S. was determined to be in an "extreme of exceptional drought," as of March 8, 2022. Utah is one of the most conservative states in the nation and its largest metropolis is Salt Lake City. The New York Times reports that “Great Salt Lake, has already shrunk by two-thirds.” According to The Times:

The lake’s flies and brine shrimp would die off — scientists warn it could start as soon as this summer — threatening the 10 million migratory birds that stop at the lake annually to feed on the tiny creatures. Ski conditions at the resorts above Salt Lake City, a vital source of revenue, would deteriorate. The lucrative extraction of magnesium and other minerals from the lake could stop.

Most alarming, the air surrounding Salt Lake City would occasionally turn poisonous. The lake bed contains high levels of arsenic and as more of it becomes exposed, wind storms carry that arsenic into the lungs of nearby residents, who make up three-quarters of Utah’s population.

As their civilization collapses, at least they can take comfort in the Supreme Court ruling that handcuffed Joe Biden’s EPA.  

Conservatives often defend dirty energy, like coal, by claiming such industries create jobs. But it’s also destroying the environment. If someone offered you a paycheck to shovel nuclear waste into a river that provides drinking water, it’s technically a job. Would you do that too?

To justify their climate change denial, oil and chemical companies trot out bogus studies created by sellout scientists who are on their payroll. Isn’t it fascinating how virtually all right-wing Republican “climate science” just so happens to bolster corporate profits? Kind of like how past research from cigarette companies conveniently concluded that cigarettes are healthy. You see, if you’re smoking, you’re relaxing. You’re slowly inhaling and exhaling. If you view it from that perspective, it’s practically yoga.

Traditionally, another conservative priority has been maintaining a strong military. However, the Pentagon believes climate change will be one of our biggest challenges. CNN reports that a senior Pentagon official warned the US military is "not ready" to handle climate change.

"We are not where we should be, and now is beyond the time when we need to get in front of that challenge," Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told CNN.

In the 2020 budget, the Defense Department devoted $617 million to prepare for climate change and mitigating its effects. However, two hurricanes -- Michael in 2018 and Sally in 2020 -- caused $4 billion in damage at Tyndall Air Force Base and Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida. Hurricane Florence in 2018 caused about $3.5 billion in damages and repairs at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and flooding at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska caused about $500 million in damages in 2019.

The costs for replacing private property damaged by climate change is an even greater issue. Conservatives downplay climate change because they often think that insurance companies will cover their damages. But the enormity climate change’s impact will eventually surpass the insurance company’s ability to pay.

First, the property insurance companies may look for reasons not to cover your damages, very much like how health insurance finds ways to decline necessary coverage.  These companies could eventually declare bankruptcy and leave you holding the bag. If you think lawmakers who receive major campaign contributions from these corporations will change the rules to protect you, you’re likely going to be crestfallen.  

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the GOP base’s penchant for religion as a leading cause of climate denial. Many Republicans believe they don’t have to worry because God will fix the problem. They seemed to have learned nothing from their impotent prayers after mass shootings or their failed forays at big tent faith healing revivals.

I know they believe in miracles, but the last time God tinkered with sea levels was to help Moses escape Egypt. Expecting a modern sequel, is probably not the wisest strategy to save the planet – but I guess that’s why they call it faith.

The Supreme Court’s shortsighted attack on the environment was disgraceful. They myopically put their parochial political concerns before the health of our planet. It was bad enough when the court’s conservatives tried to yank us back to the 1950’s. Now, they are trying to lurch us back 65 million years to the Cretaceous Period – the era when the dinosaurs went extinct. If this Court gets its way, we could be next.