At the beginning of this week a fierce storm raged through Moscow, killing sixteen people and injuring nearly two hundred. Thousands of trees were knocked down, and buildings were destroyed. In the aftermath the mayor said that he had no recollection of a storm which was so powerful and destructive.
We are hearing similar statements from officials and leaders around the world. The worst flooding in memory, the largest forest fires, the deepest droughts afflict communities. These are the dramatic events which sometimes overshadow the insidious changes such as thawing permafrost and rising sea levels. It's what some are calling "global weirding," the extremes of temperature and weather which are indicators of climate change.
And what happened at the end of the week? The United States, aka Trumpsylvania, has decided to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. President Obama entered into this agreement in 2015 in recognition that climate change is a pressing global issue. President Trump, who has dismissed global warming as a hoax, was not convinced by other G7 member countries last weekend to keep the US in the agreement. Trump is certainly not alone amongst Republicans to exit the Paris Accord. He has been influenced by a letter from 22 Republican U.S. senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. This is bizarre given that only 28 percent of those who voted for Trump say the U.S. should not participate in the Paris agreement
President Trump is a disaster as a world leader on nearly every front, but this could be his most destructive decision to date. We can only pray that the other nations which signed on will be strong in their resolve to fulfill their commitments. Honestly, I'm dubious about the practical resolve of our federal government here in Canada, but we'll see.
Thoughts?
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