2 • The Southwest Portland Post
EDITORIAL
November 2017
White House confronts climate change only during hurricane season?
OPEN FORUM
By Larissa Gordon
It has been weeks since Hurricanes
Harvey, Irma and Maria have left a path
of destruction through Texas, Florida
and the Caribbean.
President Donald Trump blames the
continuing power outages on Puerto
Rico’s faulty infrastructure and poor
leadership. However, Harvey, Irma and
Maria were storms of massive propor-
tion and came within weeks of one
another, albeit Maria hit Puerto Rico
much harder.
Regardless of what the president
says of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens,
other members in the White House
have changed their tone when they
speak about the destruction of the 2017
hurricane season.
They are starting to answer the ques-
tion so many American citizens are
asking: What caused such massive and
powerful hurricanes?
During a White House press briefing
held on Sept. 11, Homeland Security
advisor Tom Bossert was asked the
question, “Are these storms giving
this administration some pause when
it comes to the issue of climate change
and homeland security?”
Mr. Bossert replied, “I will tell you
that we continue to take seriously the
climate change—not the cause of it,
but the things that we observe. And so
there’s rising flood waters—I think one
inch every 10 years in Tampa—things
that would require prudent mitigation
measures.”
The tides are beginning to change, in
more ways than one.
The White House is now openly
acknowledging that our climate is
changing. However, when it comes to
the “cause of it” the White House still
refuses to acknowledge what climate
scientists have been agreeing on for
years: emission of greenhouse gasses.
Now, in the wake of Hurricanes
Harvey, Irma and Maria, I pose this
question: what harm would be caused
by listening to climate scientists, and
shifting away from greenhouse gas
emitting fossil fuels?
With almost unanimous agreement,
scientists point their finger towards
climate change. Now, after such a dev-
astating (and still ongoing) hurricane
season the political sector is forced to
listen.
Society tends to be reactive but
when it comes to dealing with climate
change, it needs to
be proactive. The
White House does
not fall outside of
this tendency.
They have admit-
ted to a change in
climate, a small but
meaningful adjust-
ment. However,
the White House’s
plan to deal with
this adjustment is
purely reactive.
Their plan focuses
on mitigation, not
prevention.
Scientists have the tools to model
how our country will be impacted if we
do not make a collective effort to stop
emitting greenhouse gasses. What we
do not have is the time to debate mak-
ing a shift or not.
In the wake of Harvey, Irma and
Maria, I pose this question: What harm
could be done by shifting towards re-
newable energy?
Why wait until more devastating
storms make landfall on the United
States? And why not use the destruc-
tion of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure
as an opportunity to rebuild more
sustainably?
We cannot afford to be reactive with
climate change, we need to be proactive.
Larissa Gordon lives in the Bridlemile
neighborhood. The Post welcomes reader
response. Please stick to one subject and
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