EDITORIAL: U.S. can't ignore climate change science
Correction: An earlier version of this article included a photo and caption that inaccurately illustrated the premise of this editorial. The photo was taken March 14, not Aug. 8 as stated in the caption. In addition, the photo depicted flooding that cannot be directly linked to climate change.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the New York Times' role in making the report public.
In all the sound and fury that is President Donald Trump's White House, Delawareans should not lose track of the issues that really matter.
One is global climate change. No state should be more anxious to see the federal government fight sea level rise than small, low-lying Delaware.
The alarm bells are clanging again with news of a draft report written by scientists from 13 federal agencies. Their research suggests the average temperature could rise by 5 to 7.5 degrees Fahrenheit late this century.
In climatological terms, that is a huge swing. Scientists anticipate more severe weather and longer heat waves. Most alarming, it would mean the ocean would encroach faster on coastlines around the world.
Delaware is already particularly vulnerable: its coastal areas are sinking, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has identified the Mid-Atlantic region as “hot spot” for sea level rise.
Related: Sea level rise not just a problem for the coast
Unless you’re OK with the sea consuming the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk and swallowing Dewey Beach, then this report should concern you.
The National Academy of Sciences has approved this report, but it will not be officially released until it gets an OK from the Environmental Protection Agency, led by Trump-appointed climate skeptic Scott Pruitt.
According to a New York Times piece, some scientists who worked on the report fear the administration might try to change or downplay its findings.
Scientists have good reason to suspect Team Trump would throw monkey wrenches into theoretically non-partisan science. The administration has purged global warming-fighting scientists from government advisory panels, shuttered climate-related websites and voiced its desire to walk away from the Paris climate accords.
It would be one thing if the Trump administration was just deprioritizing climate issues or rolling back some climate-related regulations on businesses. But it is actually doing something far worse: actively undermining scientific efforts to understand and combat global warming.
The overwhelming scientific consensus is clear: Global warming is real, humans are contributing to it, and we must take steps to limit the greenhouse gasses that are causing the problem.
To a certain extent, an aversion to limiting greenhouse gasses is understandable, particularly when some states have basically tied their entire economies to coal, oil or natural gas.
But there is no excuse for trying to stick the entire country’s head in the sand.
Perhaps folks in Oklahoma, the state from which Pruitt hails, are willing to accept fiercer storms and longer droughts. But for the many Delawareans who live near the coast, this is an existential threat.
We implore President Trump and his chosen leaders not to stymie climate science but embrace it.
And if that plea falls on deaf ears, we urge Delaware’s members of Congress to do everything they can to stop the administration from putting the First State in further jeopardy.
The News Journal's editorial opinions are decided by its editorial board, which is separate from the news staff.