Your Turn

Anymore it is virtually impossible to pick up a newspaper and not read about global warming. The Feb. 2 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been the focus of much recent media attention. This report, which incorporates the efforts of 2,500 scientists from around the world and was approved by the United States and 112 other nations, confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt the existence of human-caused global warming.

We now know that sea levels will rise, precipitation patterns will change, storms and heat waves will be more intense, and global water supplies and agricultural production will be disrupted. Scientists tell us that throughout history there have been other shifts in the earth's climate. What is different now is that human activities are causing an increasingly rapid and unprecedented buildup of heat-trapping gases, most notably carbon dioxide, prompting the planet to warm more quickly than ever before.

This is a problem of epic proportions because there are now nearly 6.6 billion people living in cities, towns, and villages across the globe who are increasingly connected and dependant on one another. If the country of Bangladesh, most of which is only several feet above sea level, is submerged due to rising sea levels, effects will be felt everywhere as many of its 130 million inhabitants (and that's just today's population) are forced to move to higher ground. Around the world, the effects of global warming could turn hundreds of millions of people into environmental refugees.

Reversing global warming is the greatest challenge ever faced by humanity. Sadly, we have not yet met this challenge.

Our failure to act is inexplicable since we know that there is still time to avoid the worst effects. We need to immediately start reducing emissions of heat-trapping pollution. Any delay draws us closer to a future that we should not impose on our children and grandchildren.

We are hopeful that the gravity of the situation is finally being realized by our nation's leaders. There are numerous proposals in Congress to require reductions in global warming pollution. Montana's congressional delegation should support these proposals. At a minimum our delegation should support appropriate caps on emissions targeting the most significant sources so that we can begin to reduce global warming pollution immediately.

Bills addressing global warming have also proliferated at our Legislature. Hopefully, your elected representatives understand what is at stake and are willing to move Montana forward to a new energy future that does not include heat-trapping pollution.

Governor Schweitzer has demonstrated real leadership by recognizing that Montana must reduce emissions of such pollution and by prompting the coal industry to change its ways. We applaud the governor who indicated in his State of the State address that the carbon in Montana's coal must never be allowed to enter the atmosphere. We are, however, concerned with his support for coal-based synthetic fuels. The production and use of coal synfuels would not lead to reductions in heat-trapping pollution when compared to conventional petroleum. In fact, when coal is turned into a liquid fuel and then used for transportation, about twice as much carbon dioxide is emitted than would be from the production and use of a similar volume of petroleum. While sequestration of the carbon dioxide can reduce these emissions by about 50 percent, we still think that coal can best support the transportation sector by gasifying it (and sequestering the carbon dioxide) to generate electricity that is then used to power hybrid-electric vehicles.

Some have said that Montana should not take action because global warming is such a big problem that only federal action is justified. But that's just a lousy excuse for inaction. We agree that the federal government must address climate change; failure to do so would be catastrophic. We don't agree that because a national policy is essential, the rest of us should sit idly by on the sidelines. States, communities, and individuals must be part of the solution. It seems clear to us that if we show the way, both Congress and the White House will follow.

Given our wealth of energy resources especially the extent of our coal reserves, Montana is uniquely positioned to influence national policy. This is one reason why Governor Schweitzer has become a national leader on the subject.

The United States' is the largest single source of global warming pollutants. Our emissions of heat-trapping gases exceed those of China and India combined and amount to about one-quarter of the world's total. A simple fairness doctrine indicates that we should be equally involved in the solution.

More importantly, if the United States does not become the world's leader in efforts to reverse global warming then the technologies that are needed to redress the problem will not be developed. Without such technologies, China and India will bury the world in global warming pollution in the next few decades.

If we value the future, we must immediately initiate actions that will lead to an 80 percent reduction in the emissions of heat-trapping pollution, particularly carbon dioxide, by 2050. By so leading, we can expect the rest of the world to follow.

Mike Phillips represents House District 66 in Bozeman and Betsy Hands represents House District 99 in Missoula.