 |
| (Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution) |
As we noted in Monday Reading, the United Nations has declared 1 million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction thanks mostly to human activity. But, not to worry! Primo deal maker and yugely successful businessman Donald "Not Exonerated" Trump has sent his
On one side, there’s science. In Paris, the United Nations released a report Monday saying that 1 million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, with alarming implications for human survival. More species are now threatened than at any other period in human history, with climate change contributing to the decline in biodiversity.
On the other side, there’s either a denial of those facts or science with a spin. The latter was on display in Finland on Monday, where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo objected to climate change action references in a key Arctic policy statement, and instead preferred to highlight potential advantages of global warming for global trade.Stunned, indeed. We're stunned this is what the US has come to, shitting itself on the world stage on an issue of commonly agreed existential importance.
“Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade,” Pompeo said.
U.S. allies in the Arctic Council — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Canada — were stunned by his stance.
There is an evolving policy here, as Jane Mayer points out:
So we’ve gone from ‘It’s not happening’ to ‘We can make money off it’? https://t.co/I4IAYOlRH9— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) May 7, 2019
Elections have consequences, as they say, and electing a moronic sociopath, with his singularly corrupt and ignorant cronies, is having consequences far beyond our borders and will for far longer than the time he'll be polluting his office and our country. (Obligatory reminder: "But her emails!")
