Paul Ryan, in a conversation with CNN (LINK), took a half-step towards scientific reality the other day. And gang, that is no small feat.
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Here’s the thing, in the current state of crazy town, I think he went pretty far out on a limb. Here is the question and answer.
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On what government can do to fight climate change: "Climate change occurs no matter what. The question is, can and should the federal government do something about it? And I would argue the federal government, with all its tax and regulatory schemes, can't. And all it will do is end up hurting our country, our people, and especially low income individuals."
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Now, it isn’t much, I will give you that. But compared to the rest of the Republican Party – it is a sprint towards reality. It’s not that the Republicans – as a party, not as individuals, are moving very slowly towards this. No, the Republicans have been moving, en mass, away from admitting this. A few elections ago, they were promoting carbon caps and talking about global warming. Since Obama’s election, all of that is gone (with their Health Care support, and any other reasonableness).
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So this is a big deal. And, he is right. Our federal government, alone, can’t do much about global climate change. It will take a world-wide effort.
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But what we can do, what his admission opens the door to, is to prepare for climate change. To pull our ostrich-like heads out of the sand. In North Carolina, the coastal commission is prohibited from (the Republican state government) from figuring climate change/ sea level rise into any future planning. The House of Representatives has prohibited the military from including any climate change issues in their future plans. This after the military has identified that climate impacts in parts of the world (flooding, droughts, and civil wars from food riots) are the #1 known issue that might, in the future, involve the US overseas.
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So bravo for the baby steps here. Maybe it is all he can take in the current political climate. But taking, even those steps, endangers him with the party base. But for me, and people for whom science isn’t a dirty word, it is a big deal. And I applaud him for it.