The benefits of taking action on climate change…

Image by kevindooley via Flickr

Listening to the climate change debate, you’ll hear a lot of voices claiming that climate change isn’t happening, or that it isn’t caused by human activity, or that the effects won’t be as severe as predicted. The underlying message seems to be that there’s no reason to take action to reduce our use of fossil fuels and find alternatives. No matter what you believe, though, the benefits of taking action now are enormous.

Fossil fuels are a limited resource. As supplies become more scarce, the costs of heating homes, running cars and powering our industries will skyrocket for everyone. Now is the best time to start conserving, becoming more energy efficient and looking for viable alternatives — before we’re forced to do those things.

Even if you believe that we have plenty of fossil fuels remaining, foreign countries control the bulk of the supply. They control how much we get and how much we pay. Energy independence gives us more autonomy and therefore more power in the world.

Developing alternatives to our fossil-fueled infrastructure will create jobs and business opportunities. The United States can become the leader in developing technologies that the whole world is going to want. A vital alternative energy industry promises to be the means to economic prosperity.

There are other benefits, of course. Reduce pollution. Conserve water resources. Protect endangered species and biodiversity. Replant forests. Safeguard our fishing industry.

So what’s the downside? The cost of taking action is the biggest deterrent. But weigh that cost against the costs of doing nothing. You may not believe that your house will catch fire, but you buy insurance anyway, just in case. The risks of doing nothing far outweigh the costs.

When you take into account all the benefits of weaning ourselves from fossil fuels, there are no sound arguments for not acting.