“Bad Weather”
May 1st, 2007 by Carbon CoalitionTwo different industries share similar headlines in today’s NH newspapers: “Ski Industry Officials Disappointed with 2006/2007 Season” and ”NH Syrup Production Off.” The culprit? “Bad weather.” The ski industry suffered from a “snowless November” and a ”lackluster Christmas week” (remember the 70 degree day in January?), and the maple syrup industry took a hard hit from last month’s nor’easter that knocked down trees and broke sap lines. Scientists don’t attribute one poor winter season to global warming, but the trend is worrisome. Timothy Perkins, director of the Proctor Maple Research Center at the University of Vermont, explains: “right now, the season is starting earlier throughout New England than it did 40 years ago, and it’s ending about 10 days earlier than it did. Over 40 years, we’ve lost a net of 3 days of the season” (read the entire article from the New York Times here.)
And even with these economic hits, the Bush administration is still unwilling to enter into international agreements that will address climate change, because the proposed “cap on greenhouse gas levels is too low and reaching the target would be too expensive.” But it seems like the price of inaction seems to be increasing…Recently leaders in the European Union have been pushing the US to enter into international agreements. Peter Ainsworth, a top environmental lawmaker in the UK, says “the fact the current American administration has not participated willingly or positively in that process is deeply unhelpful when it comes to seeking to persuade China and India and Brazil to get on board.” Others, equally frustrated, believe that once the US does decide to take action on climate change “it will be dramatic.” Dirk Forrester, a former aide to President Clinton, said “Americans are good at this kind of stuff. We’re actually good at environmental controls. We’re actually good at innovating and market-based solutions.” If this last winter season was any indicator, the US is certainly ready for a change of course. (Read the entire article from Greenwire here.)
