Father’s Day Letter to share with Climate Doubters

With Father’s Day approaching Sunday, June 18 I have a message for Dad’s (and Grand-dads) who might have various doubts about climate change. As a point of reference, recent surveys show that about 70% of Americans accept that climate change or global warming is a serious issue that should command our attention. That leaves almost one in three people in the U.S., who have varying degrees of question, ranging from strong disagreement that humans could be affecting climate, to skepticism, or just being unsure or unconcerned. This is a message to share — or post — for all those fathers and grandfathers.

For most of us our “dads” or similar father figures are especially important people in our lives. In many cases we revere them for strong positive traits and lessons they instilled in us. In some cases, of course, we might associate them with something that is embarrassing or even shameful. With that in mind, I want to appeal to any dads (or grand-dads, or uncles) to consider how they will be remembered on the issue of tackling climate change.

I will not use this space to try to convince someone about climate change. Rather I want to invite us all to virtually fast-forward the “movie of life” and imagine things mid-century, a generation from now. To keep it simple, I am just going to refer to one aspect of climate change, rising sea level––the one I know best––as a way to visualize the future and the context of how we will be remembered.

Because our planet is already one and a half degrees Fahrenheit warmer, glaciers and ice sheets are melting faster. Increased flooding from sea level rise is already hard to miss. Today, in coastal cities such as Miami, Norfolk, Annapolis, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco, flooding from “king tide” events is very familiar. (Due to the sun and moon being in alignment at full or “new moons” the stronger “pull” on the oceans creates extra high tides. The rise in sea level compounds the flooding.)  Such monthly flooding did not occur just a few decades ago. It is getting worse by the decade and will continue to do so, as the glaciers and ice sheets continue to melt ever faster, accelerating sea level rise. Imagine the world thirty years from now, mid-century. By then the short duration flooding that has become a “nuisance” with the full moon king high tides will be much worse and impossible to ignore.

If you are in doubt about the power of what is happening, a 4 minute segment from Greenland a few years ago is powerful: “Chasing Ice official video” on Youtube. For a good description of what’s waiting in the wings in Antarctica, see “The Doomsday Glacier” great article by Jeff Goodell, published last month.

We can’t know exactly how high sea level will be mid-century, but a foot or two of rise is now realistic. If the world makes a huge effort to slow the production of greenhouse gases, we may slow the acceleration. Regardless, sea level rise has reached a tipping point and is now unstoppable. It is a special situation in that it cannot go down for a thousand years, so is essentially permanent. When that reality sets in, which will likely happen in the next couple of decades, those that are kids today will look back on us, either as smart and proactive, or as burying our heads in the sand.

To use an analogy. I can recall growing up in the 1960’s when racial segregation was accepted policy in many southern states. Blacks, or “colored people” could not sit at the same lunch counters, go to the same schools or have the same access to bus seats, as did white people. Governor George Wallace of Alabama was a leading figure, who defended those policies of discrimination. Years later, he publicly and emotionally admitted just how wrong that was and asked forgiveness.

I have a different personal example of a father who changed a position. My dad (who will hopefully turn 100 years old in a few months) recalls his turn-about based on moral conscience on an issue. Before the US entered the second world war, he was a pacifist and registered as a “conscientious objector” who would not have to fight. But the growing awareness of what Hitler was doing finally got to him. Joining hundreds of others, he actually enlisted as a member of the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, to join the war effort even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Once the US joined the war, he switched over and became a navigator for the US Army Air Force. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for surviving 34 bombing missions deep in enemy territory and received a Presidential Citation.

Shifting one’s position on climate change may not seem as dramatic as setting aside a belief of pacifism, recognizing a clear and present danger from a global tyrant and put yourself in harm’s way.  However, what both have in common is the reality that we all take positions that can change with time and new perspectives.

For fathers and grandfathers, I just urge you to consider how your children and others will recall your position about climate change as they will be the ones living in a radically changed environment. It is both a question of your “legacy” and how you feel about yourself.

Best wishes on your Father’s Day.

By John Englander June 11, 2017 Sea Level Rise