PD Editorial: The choices we make the day after

What now? Some will be happy to learn that they can still celebrate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day by purchasing eco-friendly drinkware from Yellowstone National Park. The tumblers, we’re told, are durable and dishwasher safe. They also come with pictures of bison and moose.

But is helping Earth Day become another retail holiday the next best step the public can take toward helping the planet? There must be more.

The problem with this annual celebration of our natural world is not that its objectives are misplaced but rather its message is limited - giving the impression that care of the planet can be a one-day consideration when, amid mounting evidence of the impacts of climate change, it needs to be a 24/7 concern.

Reasonable people should be able to agree on this. But reason remains in short supply.

The latest evidence is a Gallup poll released Wednesday that fi nds a majority of conservative Republicans are still convinced that not only are the impacts of global warming not evident now but they won’t be in their lifetimes or will never be. Roughly two out of three Republicans who identify themselves as conservative said they believe the current generation will never have to deal with the effects of a changing climate.

By comparison, more than three out of four moderate to conservative Democrats said they believe the impacts of climate change are happening or will be felt within their lifetimes. Among liberal Democrats, the number was closer to 90 percent.

This survey shows a significant gap between the thinking of conservative Republicans and that of most Americans. Another recent Gallup poll found that 55 percent of the general public not only is persuaded that global warming is real but believe it is occurring.

We won’t begin to cite all the evidence to support this conclusion, one supported by science, not politics.

We believe President Barack Obama said it best on Wednesday in his address overlooking the Florida Everglades, which showcase the risks of global warming. “This is a problem now,” he said.?He also made reference to allegations made by former state employees that members of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s administration had directed them not to use the terms “climate change” and “global warming.”

“Climate change can no longer be denied,” said Obama. “It can’t be edited out, it can’t be omitted from the conversation and action can no longer be delayed.”

But apparently it can be ignored, which some in Washington are choosing. It’s our hope and expectation that this head-in-the-hot-sand thinking will be tested in the upcoming 2016 elections, when presidential candidates in particular will be called to defend their positions on climate change. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for the 2016 Republican nomination, has said that he doesn’t believe it exists, while fellow GOP candidate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has said he doesn’t believe humans are the cause.

We encourage readers to challenge and hold all candidates for state and federal office accountable for their positions on what amounts to the greatest environmental threat of this age - and the next. We can think of no better pledge in recognition of any Earth Day and all the days in between.

And what is the risk of adopting policies and practices that diminish our nation’s carbon footprint only to discover some day in the future that the threat was overstated? We end up with a cleaner and healthier planet?

Sounds like a far better consolation prize than any of the other possible outcomes.