"Although general acceptance of the global community of the reality of climate change has been rising, more and more there has been a loss of political will in the U.S. government ……..we are on the verge of going down in history as a civilization where the great lie of short term gain/profit overcomes long-term ethical and moral responsibility and duties to future generations, killed any active response to climate change."

These controversial words were published a few weeks ago in an article about the triumph of politics over science. The article by my friend Dr. Eric Fitch, Chair of the Department of Biology and Environmental Science, at Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio was carried in the March issue of the magazine, Water Resources IMPACT. Obviously Eric, together with most responsible scientists, believes that climate change not only is real but is upon us.

Further illustrating the impact of politics on science, Eric states, "In our modern political world, democracy depends on accurate, truthful information. Bend the truth, break the truth, do and say anything to win and govern has become the order of the day, especially for scientific truths that politicians find inconvenient."

One of the leading persons in the United States to deny climate change is Senator James Inhofe. Eric cites that in an interview last year, the Senator made the revelation that he had been open to the science of climate change until he found out that transitioning from fossil fuels to alternative fuels would cost the United State some $300-400 billion a year and have a large negative impact on the fossil fuel industries in Oklahoma, the state he represents. After that, to the Senator, climate change became a "Giant Hoax".

Those who deny climate change point to the recent Polar Vortex as evidence of global cooling. Eric argues that the reverse is true. Scientists believe that a greater amount of open water in the Arctic Ocean caused by increased water temperature pushed the vortex south.

Do we deny at our peril? Eric cites evidence from reputable scientific studies that 1) models for climate change are tracking more strongly than we thought they would, 2) that the planet is heating along far more aggressive pathways, 3) that sea level rise is accelerating globally, 4) that drought is occurring more frequently throughout the world, and 4) that excess carbon dioxide is leading to ocean acidification. Couple this evidence with the fact that global human population is expected to reach 9.6 billion by the 2050 and that fresh water supplies are becoming scarcer, and the it's not difficult to envision disastrous situations somewhere in the world in the relatively near future.

So what can we do? Many of us, but certainly not all, are doing routine things that years ago weren't – recycling, regulated lawn watering, and fuel efficiency to name a few. Beyond that, though, we can live with even smaller environmental footprints. We can become more active in environmental causes. Most importantly, we can insist that our children be provided with science education at earlier ages. Why? If we don't make hard decisions now, they will need to be informed to make even harder decisions in the future. Please think carefully about their future.