Ignoring climate change won’t make it disappear

The end of the century is a long time away, and it’s doubtful anyone reading this will be around to celebrate the arrival of 2100.

But if you are that lucky person 83 years from now, don’t expect to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Not unless you have a boat.

Last November, America decided to make itself “great” again by electing a climate change denier to the White House. Sure, President Trump is welcome to his opinion like anyone else, but his scientifically contrarian beliefs come with the power of the federal government. 

That means the future of not just our country, but our world, lies in the hands of someone who will watch the ocean envelop his precious Trump Tower in Manhattan, and still call climate change nothing but a hoax by the Chinese.

Yes, 2100 is a long time from now, and there’s plenty of time to fix anything we’re doing wrong now. But that’s not exactly true. At some point very soon, we have to reverse the global warming ship, or we’ll never have enough fuel to return to safe harbor.

Although we’re not experiencing anything near the drama of many dystopian disaster films that fills our cinemas, global warming is not just a future problem — it’s a now problem.

Sure, farms are finding longer and longer growing seasons, but precipitation has grown significantly since the Industrial Revolution, creating massive flooding problems in many parts of the world, along with more intense heat waves, and weather storms that are becoming far more intense. 

Hurricane Sandy in 2012 might not be a fluke. And New York is still recovering from that storm in many ways.

This weekend’s climate march in Washington is desperately needed, which will include many of our friends and neighbors from Riverdale and surrounding communities.

Climate change is real, Mr. Trump. And it’s impossible to consider any country great that would allow its largest city to drown in the Ocean.