Donald Boesch, the native New Orleanian whose long career in science has made him one of the world’s leading authorities on the causes and solutions to his home state’s coastal crisis, has a problem with the way the climate science news is being reported.

No, not the findings. He agrees the world and Louisiana are careening toward unparalleled disasters if human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced soon.

His complaint is that the second part of that last sentence isn’t getting enough attention.

Science is always about cause and effect. Boesch is concerned the possible catastrophic scale of those effects are making the public overlook the fact they can be reduced or avoided if the cause is addressed.

“When these articles come out it’s important to pay attention to the fact that they consistently show this dramatic sea level rise that could come from polar ice melt in Antarctica and Greenland could be avoided if we actually achieve the goals of the Paris climate agreements,” he said.

“The point is: This doesn’t have to happen if we address the cause that is clearly stated in these papers.”

Of course, Boesch is right; the treatment to the problem is clearly stated. But his complaint is troubling to me because I think the record shows the cause of the problem has been well-reported. It hasn’t resulted in action because of another cause and effect.

The effect: Many politicians still feel free to delay or block the tough regulations and overhauls needed to reduce emissions.

The cause: The public still has not made it a top priority when voting.

Read the rest of the article at The Times-Picayune.

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