We're in denial about climate change, water quality - Citrus County Chronicle
We're in denial about climate change, water quality | Columnists | chronicleonline.com
I spent the first 18 years of my legal career handling divorces, prioritizing people who were being physically or sexually abused within their families, to help them escape family violence and rebuild their lives. I was surprised at how many attorneys and judges resisted believing and protecting children from sexual violence, instead focusing their concern on protecting the rights of the perpetrators to have access to their victims.
Judy Freiberg
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More shocking was the growth of the “expert witness” industry used by lawyers specializing in defending perpetrators. These “experts” created and marketed to the public unproven psychological theories that explained away the injuries and testimony. Judges in denial chose to believe fake experts and the testimony of perpetrators, rather than children, their doctors, social workers and therapists who were actually treating the victims.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”