{COMMENTARY}
Well, the fat’s in the fire, you might say. The Congress-mandated National Climate Assessment report – a copy of which was obtained and just released by the New York Times – leaves little doubt that the planet’s been on a steadily rising burn for decades now, largely due to human action, notably the release of heat-trapping gases through uncontrolled use of fossil fuels.
What makes the report unique is that it’s the first major government climate study to emerge under the Trump administration. The big question is: Will our compulsively and belligerently mendacious president and his supporters try to doctor, if not suppress outright, the report? Based on White House actions to date (e.g. stripping all mention of climate change from websites, arbitrarily reassigning government scientists who speak out), the odds are that they will.
If in fact they do, everyone with the slightest smidgen of regard for reality and scientifically validated verity – but especially university faculty and students, ostensibly committed above all else to the pursuit of truth in service to life – should be outraged to the point of strong and unrelenting action against a leadership (and unfortunately that’s not Trump alone, friends) with, it seems, a planetary death wish.
The Southern Miss School of Social Work 