February 16, 2020

I believe the climate crisis is the biggest issue facing humanity, and is a fact rather than a belief or opinion. CO2 is about 50% of the issue when it comes to greenhouse gases, with water vapor, methane, CFCs, and others also contributing. We’ve gone from 280 parts-per-million to 415 in record time—more quickly than what has happened in millions of years if ever to earth on its own. Disasters are already happening. We have climate refugees from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico right here in Central Florida. People are dying of heat, with heat waves occurring in places such as Europe that don’t have air conditioning. As young people we face a harsh future. About half of all CO2 humans have ever emitted has taken place in the past 35 years, and of course there were only 3 billion people in 1960 compared to 7.5 billion now. Emissions continue to climb and cuts should have began 30 years ago, but it’s better late than never to begin them now. Renewable energy thus far is just getting tacked on while fossil fuel use stays steady or increases. At the same time, we keep developing and rebuilding risky coastal and fire-prone lands such as in Tampa Bay, South Florida, and California. I encourage you to get involved and to educate others about the climate crisis. Remember—it’s a verifiable fact, not a belief, opinion, religion, or political device.

– Richard Thripp, Ph.D.
Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress (FL-06)
Adjunct Faculty, University of Central Florida

Here are a couple of my rebuttals to common talking points from climate change deniers. I used to be a climate denier too before I learned the facts.

Commentator: Our climate has ALWAYS been changing throughout its existence. Multiple ice ages have come & gone (extreme in my lowly opinion) prior to human emergence. Typical major volcanic eruption spews more “greenhouse” gases & particulates into the atmosphere than mankind’s history. Each have caused couple degree shifts in global average temperature. But the major influence on our climate is the ever changing solar output bathing our atmosphere. Mankind is but a flea-sized affect compared to the giant Sun. That is the Earth/Space science that needs to be taught!

Richard Thripp: Going from approximately 280 ppm to 415 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere is unprecedented in millions of years and was caused by humans, mostly in the past 40 years!

Commentator: if this was true.. WHY WOULD ANYONE BUILD ON THE COAST! , no bank would loan you money, no investors would build high rises… even Obama bought waterfront property

Richard Thripp: This is not true. Just because a lot of people and institutions are operating stupidly does not make them right. For example, big insurance companies got long-term care insurance wrong, severely underpricing it, and they lost a fortune.