Salazar: U.S. can fight climate change
Oct. 24-- Oct. 24--Former Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar knows climate change is the most dire crisis of the age -- but he's optimistic that solutions can be found without jeopardizing the country's energy independence.
The one-time Colorado senator and Obama Cabinet member made the remarks during his keynote address as part of the University of Idaho's Bellwood Memorial Lecture series in a talk titled, "Climate Change and the Future of Energy," Wednesday afternoon.
Early in his address, Salazar said lawmakers need to do more to address climate change and produce real results for the American people.
"There are some in Washington who will argue that climate change is just not real ... that it's not something that we have to address," Salazar said. "I think the statistics and the realities tell us otherwise."
Salazar used these realities to paint a sobering picture of the global future if climate change is not mitigated. He asked attendees to envision an ice-free Arctic Ocean, a glacier-free Glacier National Park -- both a possibility by the year 2050. Nine of the 10 warmest days on record have happened since 2005, he said, and by the end of the century, scientists have estimated that there will be 2 billion refugees fleeing the effects of climate change.
He said the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration believes sea levels are likely to rise between 8 inches and more than 6 feet within the next 80 years. He noted the investment bank Morgan Stanley has estimated climate-related catastrophes have caused about $415 billion worth of damage in the last three years alone.
"(Climate change) is in fact a reality, in my view, that we need to address as a global community and as a nation," he said.
Salazar said while he believes climate change must be addressed, and urgently, he said it must be done in such a way that it doesn't sacrifice the U.S.'s energy independence. That term, coined in the 1970s following the formation of OPEC, has been a pervasive priority of every president since Richard Nixon. Despite that, he said the U.S. went from importing 30 percent of its oil at the time to more than 60 percent by 2005. Salazar said the U.S. today imports about 11 percent of its oil thanks in part to a series of bipartisan bills he helped pass during his time in the senate.
Salazar said he subscribes to an "all of the above" approach to energy production. While he said that sustainable energy sources have contributed to the U.S.'s success in weaning itself off foreign oil and will play a central role in the country's future, he also spoke in favor of oil industry innovations like hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling. While some in Washington, including many presidential candidates, have called for an end to fracking or the burning of oil and gas, citing environmental concerns, Salazar said such bans will only weaken U.S. energy security.
He said in order to identify real solutions, lawmakers must form bipartisan coalitions to pass a legal framework that supports sustainable practices.
Additionally, he said the U.S. needs to participate in international movements as well and spoke in favor of rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. Finally, he said, young people must continue to mobilize, be involved in politics and vote.
While he admitted he does not have all of the answers that will solve the current existential crisis posed by climate change, Salazar said he has faith in the country and humanity's ability to rise to the challenge it poses.
"Just like we have been able to make monumental progress for humanity in the arena of civil rights, in the arena of women and the right to vote -- the same way we have made huge progress in terms of energy security for our country -- it's in that same vein that we will be able to address this issue of climate change that threatens, in my view, the planet that we currently have," Salazar said.
Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.
Source: INACTIVE-Tribune Regional
(October 24, 2019 - 9:17 AM EDT)
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