EDUCATING THE MEMBERSHIP AND THE PUBLIC ON THE URGENT NEED TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

WHEREAS, climate change induced by global warming, as well as other forms of environmental degradation, is a dire threat to the quality of life on Earth as we know it;[1] and

WHEREAS, both global warming and other forms of environmental degradation are caused by human activity,[2] and the course of human activity can be changed to create a sustainable economy that would not continue to increase the level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere or otherwise cause systemic degradation of the natural environment on which our well-being depends; and

WHEREAS, although no single weather event can be conclusively attributed to global warming, its deleterious consequences include the following trends:

• Unprecedented summer melting of polar ice;
• Dramatic retreating of glaciers and snowcaps, many of which are primary water storage mechanisms for major population centers and agricultural regions;
• Rising sea levels (partly as a consequence of melting glaciers), which have already led to excessive salinity in formerly fertile coastal areas;
• Droughts and torrential storms of unprecedented severity that have devastated agricultural areas and human infrastructure;[3]
• Deadly heat waves (the 2003 European heat wave caused more than 70,000 excess deaths);[4] and

Acidification of the oceans (which absorb CO₂ to create carbonic acid), resulting in drastic reductions in the plankton that sustains the marine food chain;[5] and

WHEREAS, reinforcing effects from the processes already set in motion are likely to intensify these changes;[6] and

WHEREAS, the rapid pace of climate change, together with habitat destruction, pollution and overexploitation, threatens the survival of many species, with extreme population declines already observed in a wide range of life forms, along with an extraordinarily high rate of extinction;[7] and

WHEREAS, mass extinction would in turn threaten the resilience of the Earth’s ecosystems and deprive humanity of the resources inherent in biological diversity; and

WHEREAS, the effects of climate change on agriculture and the depletion of wild food stocks, particularly marine fisheries,[8] pose serious challenges for the world food supply; and

WHEREAS, there is no significant doubt whatsoever in the reputable scientific community that rapid climate change is occurring and is driven by human activity; and

WHEREAS, nonetheless, some industry spokespeople, public relations firms, cranks and politicians, along with a handful of scientists who are either inexpertly informed or compromised by financial associations with special interests, such as the fossil fuel industry, continue to promulgate massive amounts of misinformation, confusing the public and conferring an unmerited air of legitimacy on those who contradict valid climate science and even question the validity of science generally; and

WHEREAS, this confusion and the denial it promotes, along with misguided economic pressure, have so far stymied efforts to move our economic, social and political systems anywhere near adequately in a sustainable direction; and

WHEREAS, strong efforts to rectify the human impact on our environment would in fact improve our economy and enhance our quality of life, creating enormous employment opportunities in skilled and fulfilling green jobs and moving society away from the dominance of superficial consumption, toward more fulfilling relationships and human development; and