Going green isn’t a fad, it’s a mandate for business

Whew. Finally, the U.S. and China have held hands, sung Kumbaya and agreed to begin addressing their contributions to climate change. The U.S. and China are agreeing to cut their carbon emissions by 26-28% by 2025, and 20 percent by 2030, respectively, according to CNN.

Good thing, too, because the U.S. and China are the world’s largest contributors to man-made climate change. And almost everyone who is a scientist agrees that man contributes to climate change.

According to NASA, 97% of climate scientists agree climate-warming trends are very likely caused by mankind. Most of the leading scientific institutions worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position.

Despite the overwhelming majority agreement cited by the guys who sent us to the moon, however, certain “not a scientist[s]” are vowing to fight the administration in its efforts.

As one way to undermine efforts to address climate change, James Inhofe, R-OK, told the LA Times, “I will do everything in my power shed light on the EPA’s unchecked regulations.” Mitch McConnell, R-KY, also expressed his determination to challenge the president’s policies.

For those who fear changes to our carbon-addicted path of prosperity, we must ask: How far are we willing to take the “job creation/economic prosperity” argument? You know what else creates jobs? Fracking and Real-estate development in Chernobyl. But we’re not willing to invest in any of those, for good reason.

Economic disruption is likely at the beginning of any new venture, at least for the short term. Edwin Howard Armstrong, for example, faced major opposition from corporations invested in AM radio after he created FM. More recently, print journalism took a hit when Web journalism disrupted its business model. Neither of these were pleasant at first–but innovation always exerts a price.

It’s time to find a cleaner, sustainable path toward economic security. Going green isn’t a fad–it’s a mandate if we want to remain on this planet.