Last week, an opinion piece argued the United States should expand domestic offshore drilling as a means to lessen our country's dependence on foreign oil. Indeed, the fact the United States imports 58 percent of the oil it consumes is a threat to our economic and physical security. But that's not the extent of the problem. That any oil - foreign or domestic - is in limited supply, yet is still the source of 40 percent of our energy is troubling. But even that is not the most important danger to consider. We must be very frank about one fact - reliance on any fossil fuel cannot continue much longer without causing irreparable damage to our climate.
On Friday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued the first volume of its Fourth Assessment Report on global warming. Not only did the report state it is "unequivocal" the Earth is warming, but it attributed a likelihood of over 90 percent that man-made heat-trapping gases are the primary cause. The IPCC report was compiled by 2,500 experts from 130 countries - making it truly the most comprehensive review of all peer-reviewed research on global warming to date.
We may also recall Dr. James Hansen, head of NASA's Institute for Space Studies in New York City, has stated publicly if levels of greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, a "tipping point" will be reached in 10 years, after which the effects of global warming will be irreversible. Even President George W. Bush warned climate change is a "serious challenge."
Let's remember what all this means. One in six of the world's countries now face food shortages due to drought. Floods in Indonesia left 5,000 people dead, while Hurricane Katrina will cost the United States at least $100 billion. Mosquito epidemics have caused cholera to be seen in Bangladesh and malaria to appear in South Africa - regions in which these diseases were not previously found. If our actions do not change, the New Jersey shore will be submerged by the end of the century, displacing half our state's population.
We have a great opportunity to cut our dependence on fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis, if we start implementing the real and viable solutions we already have at our fingertips. By developing only 0.6 percent of the land of the continental United States with wind turbines, we could supply 20 percent of our nation's electricity. Today, we have the ability to get a quarter of our energy from wind and solar cities - like Portland - who have already reduced their global warming pollution to safe levels, and 12 major universities now get 100 percent of their energy from wind and solar power. We can make cars that get over 100 miles per gallon - yet the U.S. average is 20 miles per gallon - and we can make skyscrapers, office buildings and homes so efficient, that they use almost no energy.
So what should we do? Domestic offshore drilling is not an acceptable solution. Instead, the United States should take bold national action to implement solutions to global warming, starting by passing legislation - like the Safe Climate Act. But Rutgers shouldn't wait for the country to act. Our University needs to set the bar for our society by adopting a plan to become climate neutral. My peers and I are working to make sure this happens, and I hope you join in the task.
