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The mayor of Carmel in Indiana in the USA will give insight into how policy changes are enacted much faster and how America’s problem in the USA can compare and even help out countries that are struggling like South Africa. The question is raised that asks if it is appropriate to ask a democratically elected government to make decisions with regards to the control of natural resources and whether it is more appropriate to ask them or to somehow ask the knowledge leaders/scientists instead.
Jim argues that politicians are elected to make decisions and not “take polls, computers can do that”. However just because a politician was elected to make decisions based on popular vote, does that
mean they are the person that is most knowable on the subject? Logic would suggest no they are not. More than half of Americas 115th congresses are climate change deniers. That’s an astonishing figure. When compared to the massive 97% of climate scientists that agree climate change is a result of human activity. Climate change is happening at a far faster rate than ever before and its happening because of humans. A report released by the IPCC stated, with 90 percent certainty, that most “of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.” Atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million over the last 150 years, and its effects on global temperature are well-studied (Sarah Emerson, Vice).
Links: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
By Alex Mitchison
