Commentary: Cherry blossoms are proof of a planet going awry

Some of the attendees of that “Climate Realism” conference at the Hotel Washington, sponsored by fossil-fuel-friendly groups such as the Heartland Institute and the CO2 Coalition, would deny any of this. 

Current EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who addressed the reported dozens of attendees, once acknowledged the reality of a changing climate. But lately he has helped marshal President Donald Trump’s attacks on every government effort to ameliorate it, including by rescinding his agency’s finding that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant that needs regulation.

Zeldin and climate sceptics have shifted tactics in recent years, from questioning climate change’s reality to questioning its seriousness. Conveniently, both stances argue for the continued use of fossil fuels. 

Cherry blossoms arriving a couple of weeks early would seem to fall on the “not very serious” end of the spectrum of climate consequences – at least until you remember that cherry trees are plants, as are corn, wheat and other food crops also being affected by warped growing seasons.

Cherry blossoms are just photogenic bellwethers of an atmosphere going awry. You don’t have to look far to see other effects that are far less cheerful, including droughts, wildfires, destructive storms, soaring insurance costs and more. Climate deniers are famous for ignoring the facts beyond their noses, including flowers they can see from their hotel rooms. The rest of us can take a wider view.