False Dichotomy

We're used to seeing this framed a certain way. We're used to hearing that "we can't afford it". So what if we can't afford not to do it?

Ever since President Obama announced his plan to take on climate change, the usual G-O-TEA suspects have been trying to take it down. Even though strong climate action benefits the economy, they keep framing it as a false dichotomy between "good earth" and "good jobs".



Yesterday's Council of Economic Advisors report not only obliterated that false dichotomy, but it completely reframed this matter in a more accurate manner. The report demonstrated how further delays of aggressive climate action would actually cost the US Economy $150 billion a year. And that means further delays in climate action would ultimately cause an additional 40% in economic losses.

Ouch. That's downright frightening. And that's the price we must pay if we delay serious action. (No wonder why Senator Sheldon Whitehouse [D-Rhode Island] didn't hold back when he criticized his colleagues' climate inaction.)



Nevada and the rest of the nation stand to lose plenty if we fail to act on climate change. On the other hand, Nevada and the rest of the nation stand to gain mightily if we invest in a cleaner & greener renewable energy future.

For years, we've been hearing this false dichotomy. It has no basis in facts. Everyone from Wall Street titans to the governments of the European Union & Mexico has accepted the science and responded accordingly.

So why must we still act as if there's any truth to this false dichotomy? Just because some G-O-TEA politicians and their fossil fueled patrons don't want to acknowledge the truth doesn't mean we can afford to ignore the truth.