When winter weather—temperatures below freezing, snow—failed to appear for any meaningful length of time this year, the Pocono Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania took a huge hit financially. As a tourist-based economy, the resorts, restaurants, shops, gas stations, convenience stores, ski rental and winter equipment businesses rely on tourists for their income. No snow + no tourists = financial doom.
This financial doom trickles down to virtually every industry and business in the Poconos. Magazines such as the one for which I work rely on ad sales from the businesses that target tourists. Even banks make less money if their depositors have less money to put into their accounts. Everyone loses.
Meteorologist Jeffrey Masters was interviewed by Audie Cornish on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Masters explained the Jet Stream and Arctic Oscillation that is responsible for creating weather patterns throughout the world. I’ll spare you the scientific explanation (although it is fascinating) and skip right to the bottom line. Cornish pointedly asked Dr. Masters if there’s a connection between the crazy weather of the past winter and climate change. Here is Dr. Masters’ response:
“…I’ve been a meteorologist for 30 years, and when I look at the atmosphere over the last couple of years, it’s really not the atmosphere I know anymore. There have been substantial changes. We’ve seen major perturbations to the rhythms I’ve grown accustomed to. And when you start seeing unprecedented events, like we’ve seen the past few years, you do have to look at, well, is there a major climate-altering force at work?
“And, well, we know there are. There are a lot of heat-trapping gases, like carbon dioxide, going in the atmosphere. And those could, potentially, cause some of these unprecedented events, though we don’t have any theory right now that can show exactly what’s going on.”
I happened to catch a local conservative radio show where the host and the callers were stressing the need for fossil fuels to rejuvenate Northeast Pennsylvania financially. Coal built this area and the talk show host was lamenting its demise. For real. I could not believe the stupidity I was hearing and the callers praising the host for his insanity.
I consider the key difference between conservatives and non-conservatives to be short-sightedness. Drill, dig, get the money and get it now, seems to be the conservative approach. Forget about the fact that everything trickles down except wealth. Degrading our planet further will only create more, not less, financial woes.
I’ve heard conservatives say climate change is something non-conservatives dreamed up to spread socialism. I think everyone in the world wants the same things: we all want to be happy, safe and secure, financially, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.
Why is it so hard for a group that has common goals to find common ground?
One word – enough. How much “enough”? One person is safe and secure because they have locks on their doors. Another isn’t safe and secure unless they are carrying a sidearm and an automatic weapon. One person is financially happy if there is enough food on the table, a roof over their family’s head, the bills are paid, and maybe a little extra. Another has every toy, gadget, and vehicle that money can buy, and they want more – often from you and me. And some will use their weapon to take it! It isn’t that we can’t find common ground, but rather how much is enough to make us happy, safe and secure.