Kerry and climate change
12/29/2012Action on climate change isn’t the main reason President Obama wants U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. But the Great Lakes region will especially benefit if he is confirmed.
The region, in large part because of massive pollution from coal-fired power plants in Ohio, is one of the nation’s greatest contributors to man-made climate change. That change threatens the agriculture, shipping, and recreation of the Great Lakes states.
As secretary of state, Mr. Kerry could help refocus U.S. policy on climate change, domestically and abroad. The Obama Administration has allowed itself to get sidetracked on the issue since Republicans regained control of the U.S. House after the 2010 election.
The administration was largely a spectator to the recent climate talks in Qatar. Many GOP lawmakers deny the existence of man-made climate change.
Few past or present elected officials have been as outspoken on climate change as Mr. Kerry. In a Senate speech last August, he said climate change is as serious as instability in Syria and Iran.
He derided lawmakers for a lack of courage in their avoidance of meaningful measures to reduce climate-altering pollution. His nomination as secretary of state is supported by one of the GOP’s most outspoken senators on climate change, John McCain of Arizona.
Mr. Kerry’s nomination won’t in itself become an antidote to climate change, despite his fervor on the topic. Congress must confront the issue as well.
From melting Arctic ice to more frequent and intensive storms in North America, scientists are finding evidence of more rapid changes to the global climate than they expected just five years ago. Mr. Kerry is in a position to increase attention to climate change, domestically and abroad. If that happens, the nation — and particularly Great Lakes states — stand to benefit.