For once, The Washington Post headline actually reflected the commentary: “America is the worst polluter in the history of the world. We should let climate change refugees resettle here.”
Michael B. Gerrard, associate faculty chair at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, presents a gloomy, doomy picture of earth 85 years from now.
“Toward the end of this century, if current trends are not reversed,” he writes, “large parts of Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Vietnam, among other countries, will be under water.”
And we need somebody to blame. Today.
Step forth, America!
“[I]ndustrialized countries ought,” Gerrard argues, “to take on a share of the displaced population equal to how much each nation has historically contributed to emissions of the greenhouse gases that are causing this crisis.”
The World Resources Institute places responsibility for 27 percent of world carbon dioxide emissions between 1850 and 2011 on us. Therefore, the U.S. must care for 27 percent of the world’s climate change refugees … eight decades from now.
It’s only “fair,” according to the dean, that “The countries that spewed (or allowed or encouraged their corporations to spew) these chemicals into the air, and especially the countries that grew rich while doing so, should take responsibility for the consequences…”
Especially?
Is Gerrard battling so-called “carbon pollution” or … wealth?
I have a simpler plan, one not based on collective “justice” — fantasies of what whole nations somehow “deserve.” People should be free to move where they think they will be better off.
Will that still be America?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
7 replies on “Gases and Masses”
Not a thing wrong with allowing people to move freely. A hundred years ago, we had no immigration quotas and people came here in droves seeking a better life. But we also didn’t have a welfare state and the highest tax on companies in the world that suppressed job creation. Makes no common sense to allow ANY immigrants if they then automatically plug in to the welfare state and do better than Americans still struggling to hold on to a job.
Drik, I seldom disagree with you but your multifaceted point has been discredited. Please do not swallow all the falsehoods spewed by the likes of CIS, FAIR and Numbers USA. They have a barely disguised anti immigrant (particularly white, only Western European) agenda and even groups that formerly did excellent statistical analysis have fallen prey to the “Tanton Group’s” anti immigrant rhetoric. Also what these groups promote is anything but market driven. The push for top down State control of entry and programs such as EVerify that would put all people (not just immigrants) requiring permission to hire and work.Please reconsider
These dire scare predictions are the result of leftist opium dreams. or example …
“New York City underwater? Gas over $9 a gallon? A carton of milk costs almost $13? Welcome to June 12, 2015. Or at least that was the wildly-inaccurate version of 2015 predicted by ABC News exactly seven years ago. Appearing on Good Morning America in 2008, Bob Woodruff hyped Earth 2100, a special that pushed apocalyptic predictions of the then-futuristic 2015.”
http://visiontoamerica.com/22562/flashback-abcs-08-prediction-nyc-under-water-from-climate-change-by-june-2015/#60fqK0G5xQM3u1Bi.99
And how much does the rest of the world owe “America” for leading the way in the division of labor, agriculture, the technological revolution, it’s former devotion to free markets, the blood of its solders spilled on the World Wars.
If the rest of the world continues to learn and emulate, as opposed to joining the achedemics in self-hatred and violations of the 7th and 10th Commandments I suspect the world will be a better place for all at the end of this century.
The unstated premise is that technology won’t change in the next eighty years, whereas in fact it will change radically. Michael B. Gerrard is a contemptible parasite who should be ashamed to accept his salary. As even a child should realize, in far less than eighty years, improved technology will effortlessly reverse the problems he cites. He should get an education and leave public commentary to grownups.
Sorry, Mark. Mr. Garrard is doing just fine, providing cannon fodder to justify the government continuing to collect power and control unto itself and away from American citizens. For carrying that water, he will get honors and grants bestowed upon him and be lauded as a visionary.
“The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.” _Camus. And they don’t mind having a bevy of academics to validate their actions.
[Sound of applause for these excellent comments]