Yes, Gianforte, there is a climate crisis

by Tony Davis, Western Montana DSA Editorial Group, Missoula

This past week, Northern Rockies Predictive Services Fire Weather Meteorologist Dan Borsum outlined the fire outlook for the rest of the 2023 season in Montana to Governor Gianforte and DNRC members. He said that Montana should prepare for a shift to a warmer and drier season and expect more wildfires, especially in drought-stricken northwestern Montana . 

Mr. Borsum pointed to the El Nino weather pattern as to why the things are expected to get warmer. One thing not mentioned in the presentation or the discussion is that there is a much larger reason for the warmer, drier conditions here and across the United States: global warming. 

Ten years ago, I wrote a letter to the editor. I had just seen Chasing Ice, a stunningly beautiful film about the long-tern decline in glaciers around the world offering unassailable evidence of global warming. Since then, the situation has only gotten worse. Here is a graph of the atmospheric CO2 level for the last 60 years.. 

https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/

Greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane from fossil fuels drive global temperatures higher. “Fossil CO2 emissions represent the bulk of total global emissions in recent years, accounting for approximately 91% of emissions in 2022.  

Have temperatures gotten higher? Just ask the people of Phoenix, Arizona. “Saturday (July 23) set another daily record high in Phoenix at 118 degrees, which broke the previous record of 116 degrees set in 2006. It was the 23rd consecutive day with highs reaching 110 degrees or above in Phoenix and the sixth consecutive day of high temperatures of at least 115 degrees, which tied for the record of the longest streak on record.” 

Mr. Borsum did not refer to global warming probably because Gov. Gianforte does not want to hear it. Gianforte signed a bill this year (HB971) banning state agencies from analyzing climate impacts in its analysis of large projects such as coal mines and power plants which, of course, are major producers of CO2. This state is barred from including “actual or potential impacts that are regional, national, or global in nature” in environmental reviews.  

I’m sorry mister governor, but global warming is real and it is directly affecting Montanans. The fossil fuel industry is mostly to blame. Guy Walton, a veteran former Weather Channel meteorologist wants to name heat waves, just like hurricanes are named, but named after the oil and gas companies that have worsened the climate crisis. Naming the current U.S. heat wave, say, “Chevron”, is a way of naming and blaming that company for its contribution. 

Consider that just 100 fossil fuel corporations are responsible for 71 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. And those corporations are doing everything in their power to continue polluting and extracting. Big Polluters and their industry trade groups have been watering down promising policies, promoting half-measures, and pushing false solutions. They fund junk science to sow doubt and confusion about the reality of the climate crisis. And they fund politicians who stonewall climate policy for them.

Higher temperatures naturally dry things out. As Mr. Borsum told Gov. Gianforte, the summer vegetative dryness in northwest Montana is two weeks ahead of schedule and this strong heat wave is expected to continue. This will only make fire danger worse. Mr. Borsum said that humans start as much as 80% of wildfires in Montana. Everyone, please be careful!

And as for Governor Gianforte … 

This is indeed a crisis, for Montana as well as everyone else. Don’t turn your back on it.