Like so many issues in our country, Climate Change is highly politicized which gets in the way of solving problem. The left believes that Climate Change is caused by carbon emissions and therefore wants to eliminate carbon energy even before we have a viable energy source to replace it. The right believes that Climate Change is happening as a result of normal climatic changes that have occurred on earth for thousands of years. The fact is, it does not matter who is right. Since homes and other buildings are being destroyed by floods, fires, tornados, hurricanes etc., we need to focus on the effects of bad weather by dealing with ways to mitigate damages.
So, we need comprehensive forest management, which means logging and clear cutting. It certainly means cutting down dead trees both of which would make forest fires less intense. Power lines that cause fires must be buried or put in above ground pipes. Areas prone to flooding require building more flood control channels to get water away from homes and other structures. Homes in areas built on low ground, which could be impacted by storm surges should all be built on stilts. And of course, homes should be built to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and or be retrofitted to make them stronger.
California suffers from drought yet has not built a new dam since 1985 so when monsoon rains come, that water just goes out to the sea. There is all this talk about Infrastructure spending, which is fine; but some of this money should be going to solve problems that could be happening because of Climate Change. So rather than argue about the causes of Climate Change, we should instead focus on dealing with the impact of weather that effects so many parts of our country.
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