Waiting for Hanna. Or Ike. Or…

Although smaller towns in Louisiana, and Cuba, took a vicious pounding from Gustav, the worst of the hurricane spared a still suffering New Orleans. It wasn’t just Republicans, fearful of having their national convention taken over by Katrina II, who breathed a huge sigh of relief. As a nation, we could do it together, as we collectively escaped another jarring blow to our sense of security and national self-image.

But by how much? As I watched the video of the storm surge overtopping the wall of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal – a concrete wall that had failed three years ago and suddenly didn’t look all that sophisticated, or strong – it dawned on me that it wouldn’t take much more of a storm to bring those levees crashing down again. Despite early warnings, Gustav had actually weakened before landfall, and the center of the storm had passed well to New Orleans’ west. And yet here it was, overtopping the levee walls.

In the wake of the devastation caused by Katrina, with some estimating the economic cost to New Orleans alone in excess of $100 billion, it’s remarkable to consider that the rebuilding of the city’s levee system is still not done three years later. In fact, it won’t be done for another three years – if it stays on schedule. Doesn’t that seem like an awful long time – and an awful big risk?

Even when complete, the levees are only being built to withstand a hurricane that has a 1% chance of occurring any given year, a storm one would expect roughly once every 100 years. But how reliable is such a standard when the strength and number of storms is growing, as predicted by global warming? Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Gulf used to be a rarity, but not so any more. Given this, why can’t our nation build a system like the Netherlands, one that is designed to withstand a 10,000 year storm? Just as important, why aren’t we racing to build the barrier islands and restore the wetlands that we destroyed in the Mississippi delta, islands and wetlands which are the first and foremost line of protection against such storms?

A lot of questions perhaps, but none that couldn’t be answered by a federal government that recognized the true dangers facing our nation, and had its priorities straight in dealing with them. But we’re still waiting for that government, just like we’re waiting for the levees to be rebuilt in New Orleans. There might be hundreds of billions of dollars available for war and occupation in Iraq, but not so for the protection of our own cities.

So what is it that is protecting New Orleans right now?

“The number one thing protecting New Orleans right now is not the corps, it’s chance,” says Tulane University law professor and coastal protection activist Oliver Houck. “The historical odds show Katrina doesn’t come every day. That’s all that’s really protecting us right now. The odds.”

As reported in the New York Times, Col. Jeffrey Bedey of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed. “We’re just lucky Mother Nature gave us what she gave us,” he said, referring to New Orleans’ narrow escape from Gustav.

Call me crazy, but I think we should depend on more than luck to keep us from ecological and economic disaster. What do you think?

Happy Labor Day, Kensington!

Yesterday was Labor Day, and for those of you who don’t know already, the town of Kensington, a couple miles north of the Beltway on Connecticut Ave., throws one heck of a Labor Day parade.

Similar to Takoma Park’s July 4th parade, Kensington’s Labor Day parade is replete with fire engines, marching bands, floats and local groups of every shape and size. The town’s main roads shut down for a few hours, and hundreds and hundreds of people – mostly local, but not all – lined the streets for the event. Local groups set up tables for the crowd to explore after the parade, and a particularly fun and appropriate ending on this warm day was Kensington’s annual tradition of turning on the fire hoses for the local kids, who donned their swim trunks and ran screaming in an out of the spray.

Needless to say, a great time was had by all. And once again, perhaps also needless to say at this point, virtually everyone I spoke with was in support of our campaign’s primary platform. There were the unusual questions, as always (one person asked me if I thought the drinking age should be lowered – something a number of prominent university and college presidents are calling for, in case you didn’t know), but whenever I spoke about the need for massive government initiative to switch from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy, everyone flat-out agreed. Even a few self-described die-hard Republicans, who said they would never vote for me, nonetheless nodded their heads in quiet agreement when I described what needs to happen in our country.

If it’s so apparent to so many people in our country what we need to do, why is it so hard for our members of Congress to figure this out? Could it have anything to do with the large amount of contributions they are taking from corporations (oil, gas, auto, etc.) that continue to reap immense profits from the system as it exists now?

Whatever Congress’ problem, it is heartening to know that so many citizens that I meet and speak with every day agree on the solutions that we need in this country, solutions that we need now. (Ending the fiasco in Iraq, which will of course help pay for our energy conversion, is another popular position.) As we enter the home stretch of the campaign – only two months and two days left ’til Election Day! – it will be an honor to keep spreading this word to the thousands of voters in Maryland’s 8th District, and to help build the pressure we need to make this absolutely critical change happen.

In the meantime, thank you Kensington, for an absolutely delightful time! I hope everyone reading had a great end to their summer, and is looking forward to as great a fall as we are – see you on the campaign trail!

P.S. – In case you’re wondering where our campaign is going to be next, check out our quickly expanding events page on the Clark for Congress website – link in the upper right hand corner of this page.  And let us know if there is a group or community event we should be speaking at, or if you’d like to hold a houseparty for the campaign!

Me and Al Gore

Well, it took a while, but Al Gore, former Vice-President, celebrity movie producer and global warming crusader par excellence, has finally endorsed my campaign.

Of course he doesn’t know that, yet, but by announcing his visionary goal of producing 100% of America’s electricity from renewable, clean energy sources within 10 years, Al Gore has endorsed the main platforms of my campaign for Congress, which calls for government investment in renewable energy to switch from a fossil fuel-powered economy to a renewable energy economy.

I gladly accept Mr. Gore’s endorsement.

And I hope, one day very soon, Mr. Gore will realize that his visionary goals need to go from simply being fine speeches to becoming government policy. And that the only way that will happen is when he and others who believe as he does actively support political candidates who fight for his goals – as opposed to those who would simply share his limelight, all the while supporting the status quo and soliciting money from the very corporations that actively fight against what we want.

For the moment, though, Mr. Gore seems willing to lend his massive popularity to those who would do very little if anything to enact his goals. Consider, for instance, his appearance over the weekend at Netroots Nation, the annual national conference of progressive bloggers. He was introduced by non-other than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who stood on stage and embraced him while he received a raucous standing ovation from the crowd.

But does Speaker Pelosi embrace his goals? When asked whether the Congress she leads would accept Mr. Gore’s challenge, she responded “It is absolutely possible to do so.” How’s that for a purely theoretical conjecture of personal non-commitment? And yet the enduring image is one of Ms. Pelosi in Al Gore’s warm embrace.

I have publicly extolled Al Gore in previous commentaries as the person who, perhaps more than any other on the planet, has labored courageously to focus the world’s attention on the crisis of climate change. That’s still true, but with 10 years left for us to make the radical changes necessary to confront global warming – as Mr. Gore himself says – we must have political leaders who will turn his ideas into policy.

So ask yourself, who would Al Gore – the man who set forth that visionary goal – vote for?

Would he vote for someone who supports a moratorium on dirty, dangerous coal-fired power plants (Gordon Clark), or someone who opposes it (Chris Van Hollen)?

Would he vote for someone who proposes government initiatives to produce gas-free, electric cars (Gordon Clark), or someone who brags about passing a law that requires only a modest increase in car mileage standards, and gives the auto industry 12 years to do it (Chris Van Hollen)?

Would he vote for someone who supports massive federal investment in renewable, clean energy now (Gordon Clark) or someone who supports a complex “cap and trade” scheme with a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% – 40 years from now (Chris Van Hollen)?

More importantly, who would you vote for?

Because at this point, Mr. Gore should heed the wisdom espoused by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). “Politicians don’t care what you think,” Rep. Frank once dryly observed, “they care how you vote.”

Chris Van Hollen Agrees with Bush – Let’s Burn More Oil!

In 2006 President Bush observed that our nation is “addicted to oil.”  Now, in 2008, my opponent, Chris Van Hollen, is arguing with the president about where we should get our next fix.

After the president’s radio address this past Saturday, in which he urged opening our nation’s coastlines to oil drilling as a solution to high gas prices, Chris Van Hollen responded by saying  “Now let me be clear: Democrats support more drilling.”  The only difference between Bush and Van Hollen, apparently, is whether that drilling happens off our coasts, or in between them.

Both of them are being disingenuous when they suggest that more domestic oil drilling will do anything to reduce current high gas prices, regardless of where that drilling happens.  It would take years before such oil reaches the market, and even then it will do nothing more than replace declining production of other domestic oil sources. Such proposals may further enrich oil companies, but they will do nothing to help struggling Americans now.

And it is outrageous that anyone who claims to be deeply concerned about global warming, as Chris Van Hollen does, is simultaneously promoting the extraction and burning of more oil.

Our current problems stem from the lack of any coherent national energy policy.  There is no ‘quick fix’ for the current price of gas, but there are three things that can be done to immediately stabilize the price and move us forcefully in a new direction.

First, our federal government needs to invest heavily in mass transit and in gas-free, non-polluting electric cars.  Other nations have such alternatives, why don’t we?

Second, we must stop threatening to start a war against Iran.  Such instability in the Middle East is a primary cause of oil speculation, which directly raises prices at the pump.  Regrettably, Chris Van Hollen helped raise gas prices last month when he co-sponsored the reactionary House Concurrent Resolution 362, which urges the president to establish a blockade of Iran.

Third, we need a national energy policy that moves us quickly and decisively from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy.  Once again, why are other nations doing this, while our government is not?

The last thing we need now is a debate between the president and Congress about where to do more oil drilling.  If you agree with me about the path out of our current energy crisis, and want to help change the climate in Congress, please visit our campaign at clarkforcongress.net.

Marching on the 4th of July

Marching in the Fourth of July parade in Takoma Park, Maryland is a wonderful experience, and truly a slice of what small town American life can and should be like.

Everyone comes out – it seems half the town participates in the parade while the other half watches it. They bring out the fire engines, the police force on motorcycles, the local elected officials in vintage cars, the marching bands, the clowns, the Girl Scouts and local elementary school clubs. There were local high school marching bands, Caribbean and Bolivian dance troups, and steel drum bands from Trinidad and Tobago. And since this is Takoma Park and Montgomery County, we also got the “Dog Training Marching Drill Team,” “Casinos for Takoma Park” (not everyone seemed to get the joke), and the “Lawn Mowers Against Global Warming” – a group of neighbors doing precision drills with their manual mowers.

While our campaign was not officially allowed in the parade – something about the parade committee not wanting it to be a “political” event, even though Chris Van Hollen was allowed to march while his staff handed out “Re-elect Chris Van Hollen” materials on the sidewalks – a group of eight volunteers joined me as we worked the crowds along those same sidewalks. I shook hundreds and hundreds of hands and we handed out more than a thousand “Clark for Congress” rally fans and flyers. With music and dancing and great floats, it was a truly a fun filled and joyous event, and a great time was had by all.

Except, apparently, by Rep. Van Hollen. He seemed like one of the very few unhappy people I met that day.

I was shaking hands on Maple Ave. when I was told that he was coming up behind me. I turned to meet him – was it my imagination that he seemed to be taking “evasive maneuvers?”  When we finally confronted each other, I stuck out my hand, and gave him a big smile. “Hey Chris!” I said enthusiastically, “it’s Gordon Clark. You know that I’m running for Congress this fall, and I’m looking forward to some spirited debates on the issues!”

Chris initially shook my hand – it becomes reflexive when you’re running for office – glanced at me for a second, and then turned and walked away without saying a word. Can you believe it? Not a simple “We’ll see what we can do” or a “How are you doing, Gordon?” or even a “Have a great Fourth of July!” Just turns and walks away.

Nor was the experience mine alone. At least two other supporters of our campaign told me later that they had met him on the parade, and when they urged him to take part in public debates, he turned and walked away – again, without saying a word.

Perhaps Chris Van Hollen had a bad hot dog earlier in the day?

Regrettably, his actions are similar to those of many elected officials, who feel that once they’re elected they can ignore the issues, their constituents, and especially any challengers. He has also (so far) refused offers of candidate forums from local civic and advocacy groups, and his actions are a metaphor for a larger system, including the mainstream press, that actively works to shut out any nettlesome challengers, and to strictly limit public debate on the issues. Just ignore them, seems to be the theory, and they will go away.

Well, this campaign ain’t going away. This campaign is as serious as a melting glacier and a $5 gallon of gas, and if Chris Van Hollen believes he can ignore public debate of the critical issues in an election year, he’s got another thing coming.

The July 4th parade is just the beginning – help us make this campaign happen! Go to the volunteer page and let us know how you can take part! With thanks to the Clark for Congress volunteers and to all the great Americans who work to secure the blessings of liberty, not just on July 4th and not just for ourselves, but every day of the year and for generations to come.

Watching the Polar Ice Caps Disappear

The weather is getting weirder and weirder. Or, as my friend Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network calls it, unrecognizable. It’s also getting deadlier. Huge numbers of tornadoes and “wind events” have swept through ever larger parts of the country this spring, killing people and destroying trees and property – including right here in Maryland. Record “1,000 year” floods have hit the Midwest this spring, killing people and destroying billions of dollars of farmland and property. Now more than one thousand wildfires have broken out in California, the result of lightning strikes in tinder dry forests. Hundreds of people in the state’s central valley are filling hospitals due to smoke and soot inhalation.

“What we are experiencing is way out of historical norms,” said Shawn Ferreria, a senior air quality specialist for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control Distict.

That is what you hear over and over if you listen to the news about the climate changes we are experiencing across the country, and the world. “Record-breaking.” “Unprecedented.” “Never seen anything like it – lived here all my life, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Perhaps most disturbing of all is the news this past week that scientists think there is a 50-50 chance the Arctic Ocean will be completely free of ice this summer –- for the first time in human history.

It’s hard to imagine what this most look like. Check out this 30 second NASA animation, and you will get a very, very clear idea:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/10/19/VI2007101902050.html

It is hard to know how to respond, even what to feel, in the face of such events. What is clear is that the crisis of climate change is not only real, it is advancing much, much faster than we previously understood, or have been led to believe. It was only one year ago that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the Arctic might be free of ice by 2050-2070. Twelve months later, it might be free of ice by this summer –- 2008.This campaign for Congress is to a large degree focused on the crisis of global warming and climate change, a crisis that will have – and is already having – a profound and potentially disastrous effects on the environment, our economy, and everything we hold dear.

This campaign is proposing specific initiatives to respond to climate change, starting with a massive, federally-led conversion to a green, renewable energy economy. This needs to become our New Deal, Marshall Plan, and Apollo Project all rolled into one.

Now is the time to respond.

Join us in making it happen!

Congress uses its “magic wand” to increase the price of oil…and gas.

As the price of gas – and everything that uses gas or oil – continues to go up and up, Barack Obama, John McCain, and many members of Congress have taken on President Bush’s mantra that “there’s no magic wand” they can wave to change the price of gas.

Well, that’s not exactly true.

It’s true that the major steps Congress needs to take – including, first and foremost, an absolute, bedrock commitment to converting from our fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy – would not instantly drop the price of gas a buck fifty. Such steps certainly would stabilize the market, though, and guarantee that prices started on a downward trend. But it’s no “magic wand” – just good policy.

Which is probably why Congress isn’t doing it. Instead, one of the most popular responses to high gas prices is the call to drill for more oil in the U.S.

Putting aside the supreme irony of politicians who claim deep concern about global warming yet simultaneously call for more oil drilling (and burning), expanded drilling off our shores or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge won’t do anything to address the price of oil and gas, because there simply isn’t enough oil left to make a difference. The fundamental problem is one of supply and demand. Oil is a finite resource, and the diminished supply can no longer meet the increasing demand. Trying to tap every remaining pocket of oil on the planet will not change this equation.

So no magic wand there either, except perhaps for the profits of the big oil companies – who seem to get terribly preferential treatment from the magic wand.

But there is one thing Congress can do that will absolutely and without question, magic wand like, raise the price of gas. They can declare war on Iran. And that, incredibly enough, is exactly what they seem to be doing.

Just this past week our supposedly anti-war Representative, Chris Van Hollen (D- MD8), became the 208th member of the House to sign on to the disastrous House Concurrent Resolution 362, which many analysts – including this one – consider tantamount to a declaration of war on Iran.

Although supposedly non-binding, the measure “demands” that the President “initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran.” It calls for “prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products,” “imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran” and “prohibiting the international movement” of Iranian officials. In other words, impose a blockade on Iran – an act of war.

Ignoring the fact – as Congress is now doing – that our own intelligence agencies concluded just last year that Iran had suspended any active nuclear weapons program (in theory what this reactionary House Resolution is supposed to address), a war with Iran would dwarf the Iraq war in its deadly, chaotic and destabilizing effect on the Middle East and the world. And it would probably provoke Iran to actually build a nuclear weapon.

And what would such a war – or even the increased threat of an attack – do to oil and gas prices?

When hawkish Israeli deputy prime minister Shaul Mofaz said that he thought an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites was “unavoidable,” the price of a barrel of oil rose 9 percent to a new (at the time) record on June 6. As H. Con. Res. 362 made its way through the House this past week, oil hit yet another new record high of more than $140 a barrel. Geopolitical tensions, particularly those surrounding Iran, are regularly cited by industry analysts as a reason for the “unsettled” oil market.

If rhetoric has that effect, imagine the consequences of an actual military strike. The huge spigot of Iranian and Gulf state oil would be turned off. The price of oil and gas could easily double after an attack on Iran, and both the U.S. and the world could be quickly plunged into the global depression that many are already worried about.

We have arrived at the point where environmental, economic and national security policies are inextricably linked. Policies that promote conflict and war will also spell disaster for our economy and our planet. So there is at least one “magic wand”- unfortunately, it’s only for bad magic.

$10 a Gallon Gas, or Start Converting Now?

CNN reported today that analysts predict gas could hit $10 a gallon within a couple of years. Other nations are making bold strides to move away from fossil fuels – why does our government take only half-hearted baby steps?

With gas prices setting new records on a weekly basis, CNN reported today what I had previously heard only on blogs: some market analysts are now predicting gas could go as high as $10 a gallon within a couple of years. Ten dollars a gallon.

As shocking as this might sound, we should not be surprised. It was less than a year ago that crude oil was at $70 a barrel, yet this week it hovered around $130, with Goldman Sachs predicting it could soon rise to $150 or $200. And as recently as 2001 you could still buy a gallon of gas for $1, even though the national average is now approaching $4 a gallon.

The basic dynamic behind this dramatic price increase – a shrinking supply which can no longer meet growing demand, a dynamic referred to as “peak oil” – is not going to change. It can only get worse, and prices will only rise.

And it’s not just the price of gas itself that will go up, but the price of everything that uses gas or oil in our economy, which as we note elsewhere on the website is pretty much everything. As author James Howard Kunstler outlined in his recent Post op-ed “Wake Up America. We’re Driving Toward Disaster,” this inescapable dynamic will affect (and is already affecting) everything from the price of food to how we travel, conduct commerce and trade, deliver health care and occupy the land we live on.

Indeed, food prices have already soared in recent months. People are shifting to metropolitan mass transit systems as gas prices keep rising, but these systems are in bad repair and overcrowded. The airline industry is crumbling under the weight of fuel costs, with new fees introduced almost daily. Five small airlines filed for bankruptcy in the past two months.

And all the consequences of peak oil will all be exacerbated by global warming induced climate change, as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program made clear in a report issued yesterday that predicted everything from greater forest fires to increased crop failures. The document concludes that “climate change is already impacting the nation’s ecosystems and services in significant ways, and those alterations are very likely to accelerate in the future, in some cases dramatically.”

So what is our government doing about this? We know the Bush Administration is out to lunch, but why isn’t our Democratic-controlled Congress taking dramatic action to meet this rapidly growing, double-headed crisis?

Other nations invest heavily in renewable energy development. Our government invests a fraction of what it spends each month on the occupation of Iraq. Other nations maintain extensive, effective mass transit systems. Ours are allowed to disintegrate.

Here’s another perfect example of the problem: Israel recently announced support for an initiative to add 100,000 electric cars to their roads by 2010. Meanwhile, our Congress announced with much fanfare six months ago that they were modestly raising fuel efficiency standards for U.S. cars by 40% – by the year 2020.

The lack of an even remotely adequate response by this Congress is a criminal abdication of its responsibility to represent the interests of the people of this country. And however much the Democrats controlling Congress complain about Republican obstructionism, they themselves have yet to even put forth a plan to meet this crisis, let alone demonstrate a willingness to go to the mat fighting for such changes.

Of course, we must change as well. We cannot maintain our current “cheap energy” lifestyle and expect that some new technology or government program will fix everything. We must change how we live, not only to meet the extreme challenges of climate change and peak oil, but to compel our government to take serious action itself. If we don’t move, then our government won’t either.

Our Congress desperately needs members who will present serious plans to combat global warming and convert to a clean energy economy; members who are not beholden to the oil, coal and auto industries and who are free to fight for the bold policy changes we need to enact now.

That’s what this campaign is about – please join us now.

More Bad News on Biofuels (and tips on saving gas)

The push for so-called “second-generation” biofuels, those made out of non-food crops, once again ignores a huge problem: many of the plants under consideration are invasive species that can wreak havoc on the environment. How many more terrible ideas do we we have to go through before we invest in renewable energy electric vehicles and mass transit?

We have written previously on the multiple disastrous effects of food-based biofuels such as corn ethanol, a subject we will revisit again and again until Congress stops funding them.  Biofuel crops such as corn ethanol are driving up the price of food in the U.S., creating greater hunger around the world, polluting the Chesapeake Bay and other vital watersheds, and accelerating global warming by promoting deforestation.

Using non-food crops for biofuels might seem to be an alternative, but upon closer inspection even these often turn out to be a very bad idea, for a host of other reasons.

A recent article in the New York Times explains how many second-generation biofuel crops are invasive alien species that can overrun adjacent farms and natural land, and create “economic and ecological havoc.”  As one expert notes, “we’ve had 100 years of experience with introductions of these crops that turned out to be disastrous for environment, people, health.”

One particular example is the giant reed, a fast-growing, thirsty plant that has drained wetlands in other places where it has been planted.  So why in the world would one create plantations of such a dangerous species right next to the already-threatened Florida Everglades, as is currently planned?  And to make matters worse, the giant reed is highly flammable and a major fire risk.  More fires are the last thing we need as we struggle to arrest global warming.

This does not mean that some second generation biofuels might not be appropriate, grown in specific places and under specific conditions.  But the corporations looking to make a profit and the governments that do their bidding, including our own, seem to have no interest in doing the necessary study or taking any precautions, and are racing ahead with dangerous and often counterproductive plans.  And have you noticed how biofeuls have done nothing to reduce the price of gas, or even hold it steady?

In addition, the rush to biofuels ignores even more fundamental realities.  One is that even converting huge amounts of agricultural production to biofuels can only satisfy a small fraction of our current oil and gas addiction.  The U.S. leads the world in soybean and corn production, but even if 100% of both of these crops were turned into ethanol, it would still only provide about 20% of the fuel currently used by U.S. drivers each year.

The second and overriding reality is that as the level of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in our atmosphere move closer and closer to a catastrophic tipping point – with some scientists worried we are near or at that point already – what we need to do is to drammatically decrease and eliminate burning fuels – not simply exchange one sort of flammable fuel for another.  That is why the appropriate answer to the crisis of global warming, not to mention the ever-rising price of gas, is a giant federal investment in mass transit and renewable energy electric cars.  And that’s precisely what this campaign is fighting for.

In the meantime, we also need to take every possible step to reduce our own consumption of fossil fuel.  And when walking, bicycling, and mass transit are not possible and you must use your car (and we do mean must!), here, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend, are a few tips on how to use less gas while you’re driving.

Area Drought Ends – With a Flood

Tuesday’s front page headline in the Washington Post – “Deluge Washes Away Area’s Drought” – neatly summarized the climate chaos that we are creating through global warming. Without strong, even radical government action, such weather events, and the devastation they cause, will only get worse.

As noted in the Post article, the 11 month drought ended, “but local officials soon found themselves facing the opposite problem” – widespread flooding that shut down schools and government buildings, caused significant property damage, threatened lives, and left tens of thousands without power.

As should be readily apparent, while the drought may now be “officially” over, months of little or no rain followed by a few weeks of intense downpours is not an optimal precipitation pattern – but that is exactly the type of chaotic weather extremes that global warming creates.  And while everything looks very green right now in our area, it is more likely than not that the same severly dry conditions will be upon us again this summer – with the same results to our vegetation, and farmers’ crops, that we saw last summer.

This past week also featured the freakishly strong winds, including a possible tornado in Calvert County, that are associated with our increasingly violent weather.  The same system that gave us all this rain and wind spawned tornados that killed at least 22 in the mid-west. 

Regrettably, the rain did not do nearly as much for the Southeast, which continues to be in the grip of a severe, prolonged drought.  (Water rationing has become a way of life in Atlanta and other cities and towns in the region.)  And just as bad, this spring’s heavier-than-usual flooding in the mid-west has led to predictions that the year’s corn crop will be at least 5-10% lower that last year.  Add on to this the fact that 25% of the crop is being diverted to make economically and environmentally disastrous corn ethanol, and it’s virtually a guarantee that our food prices will continue to rise through the coming year.

The leading edge of deadly climate change is all around us, in the weather we see and experience every day, yet our Congress seems oblivious, and promotes policies that do little to address the root cause of global warming, and in some cases actually make the situation worse.

It is time for leadership that understands the climate crisis we are facing and is prepared to do something about it.  Join the Clark for Congress campaign, and help us make the difference.