In the United States Congress there are 182 climate change deniers. These senators and representatives have continually blocked reasonable legislation by the EPA. Something of an obvious reality is being changed into a doubt by 59 percent of the Republican house and 70 percent of the Republican senate. But why? One issue is appealing to voters. Even if candidates know that climate change is real, they need the support from climate change deniers. So, they take this stance. Senator Mitch McConnell stated, “For everybody who thinks it’s warming, I can find somebody who thinks it isn’t.” Recently, when asked whether he agreed that human activity was driving climate change, McConnell stated, “I’m not a scientist.” Nobody uses the term “global warming” any more. The real term is “climate change”. Much of the Northern Atlantic is experiencing some of the hottest summer days on record. Climate change is producing some of the worst storms on record as well, and South Carolina has been impacted by this. With increased tropical activity in the Atlantic because of higher water temperatures, South Carolina seems to have torrential floods every year. Last year we had Joaquin, this year we had Hurricane Hermine and Tropical Storm Julia in the span of 2 weeks (Julia was much worse strangely). The NOAA stated, “Turning to future climate projections, current climate models suggest that tropical Atlantic SSTs will warm dramatically during the 21st century, and that upper tropospheric temperatures will warm even more than SSTs.” This warmer water leads to a longer hurricane season and increased intensity of hurricanes.

The evidence of climate change includes:

• Sea level rise: The rate in the last decade is nearly double that of the last century.

• Global temperature have risen since 1880, with the 10 warmest years occurring in the past 12 years.

• Warming ocean: The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat.

• Shrinking ice sheets: Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass.

• Glacial retreat in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa.

• Increased frequency of natural disasters (increased intensity and duration also). 

• Ocean acidification: The acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent.

• Decreased snow cover: The amount of spring snow cover has decreased and snow is melting earlier.

• Shift of ecosystem characteristics: A response of flora and fauna span and array of ecosystems from organizational hierarchies.

• Changes on human life: There have been continual impacts on global food supply, water resources, infrastructure, and health.

Lindsey Graham, our own Republican senator, has a very different stance than his Republican counterparts. He chastised his fellow Republicans, stating, “Tell me why you deny climate-science”. To answer that question, there is literally no reason. Over 97 percent of climate scientists say climate change is real, and humans are the cause of it. After Graham took this stance on climate change, he was accused of being liberal. Just because he accepted a common, well known belief, he becomes a liberal? Graham has served his time on the senate dutifully; if accepting a scientifically proved notion makes him an outcast, everyone should be an outcast.