Empirical evidence points to climate change

A person can think “rationally and logically” and still be completely wrong: if your underlying assumptions aren’t empirically grounded, regardless of how rational and logical you think, your conclusions won’t align with reality except by accident. 

Up here in northern Idaho, we currently have the privilege of being able to mostly ignore the effects of climate change and pretend it isn’t happening, but institutions that have to work at much larger scales don’t have that luxury. Insurance companies can’t afford to ignore the increased risks associated with climate change and pretend it isn’t happening. Because they’ll lose money. It isn’t a coincidence that homeowners insurance is either crazy expensive or completely unavailable to people living on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. which is especially sensitive to both rising sea levels and increased hurricane activity associated with climate change. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Defense can’t afford to ignore the scientific reality of climate change which affects not only their day-to-day operations across the globe but the political stability of both allies and adversaries in vulnerable regions. To be clear, the insurance industry and the military are not “liberal” leaning academic institutions: they, by their very nature, have to model empirical reality as closely as possible or they won’t be successful. And both institutions accept the reality of climate change.

JAMES KNOBBS

Dover