A changing climate

Bill requires study of global warming's N.C. impact

May 31, 2005

The state Senate took a wise step last week. On a 44-6 vote, it proposed to create a study commission to assess the impact of global climate change on North Carolina and make recommendations for dealing with adverse impacts.

That's a forward-looking response to what scientists tell us is no longer just an oddball theory. They tell us that largely because of greenhouse gas emissions, ocean levels are rising, air quality is worsening and trees in the western region are suffering -- all linked directly or indirectly to global warming.

In Eastern North Carolina, for example, East Carolina University geologist Stan Riggs has documented how ocean levels are rising and submerging parts of our coastline. His studies have documented -- demonstrated, not just surmised -- how sea levels have risen and consumed shorelines. At the current rate, about 1,250 acres of North Carolina drown each year. Within this century, rising ocean levels will submerge large portions of the east and change the shape of the state.

William Schlesinger of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment says climate change and other factors will transform the way we grow food and fiber. "We can expect large changes in what grows in North Carolina -- the crops that feed us and the forests that form such an important part of our economy," he told the legislature last fall.

Those are among the reasons the Senate endorsed a proposal by Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, to create a Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change. Sen. Albertson is no Chicken Little worried about the sky falling. He is an Eastern North Carolina farmer and agricultural adviser who came slowly to the conclusion that it was time to find out what's happening. "There is a growing body of evidence that in fact tells us that global warming is taking place," he said. "I think we would be less than responsible if we did not study this issue."

His bill, now pending in the House, would create a 30-member commission with representatives from the legislature, the public, the state's two largest power companies, leading business organizations, major environmental groups and four universities. Its charge would be to study climate change impacts, determine whether the state should adopt a global warming pollutant reduction goal and develop a recommended goal.

Some near-sighted skeptics question whether there's anything the state could do about global warming. We don't know that answer, but we do know that it would be irresponsible, bordering on stupid, to assume we can do nothing and ignore what may be a threat to our economy and to public health. It's for the legislative commission to determine the extent of any global warming impacts and to assess how the state might address those changes.

The Senate deserves credit for taking a pro-active approach to this issue. The state House should follow suit -- and give North Carolina a chance to prepare for a change.