Cue Upton Sinclair: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Watch video
Hurricane Harvey is another wake-up call, a reminder that we can no longer ignore man's contribution to the warming of the planet and how it increases our vulnerability to devastating weather events. To deny that only that invites more catastrophes like the one that has ravaged our nation's fourth largest city.
It is also a reminder that we need leaders who tell the truth, not people whose careers were advanced on fossil fuel money and climate denialism - yet right on cue, here comes Steve Lonegan, pursuing another office that should make New Jersey's collective gut seize.
The former Bogota mayor is running for the 5th District congressional seat currently held by Rep. Josh Gottheimer. Lonegan has the intellect, geniality and name recognition he'll need to compete, not to mention the money: For six years, he was the New Jersey director for Americans for Prosperity, which means his depraved indifference toward climate change echoes that of fossil fuel barons Charles and David Koch, who have given $100 million to 84 groups that deny climate science since 1997.
And in the wake of Harvey, it needs to be asked:
Would New Jerseyans vote for a candidate who believes that "the science stating that humans are responsible for climate change is highly questionable - there's also a massive amount of science that refutes that," and that this will all be followed by a cooling trend?
Would a state that values leadership vote for someone who believes the Sandy relief bill "was fraught with pork barrel spending" and written by legislators who "don't let a good crisis go by without grabbing the opportunity to pile on. . . .and history has proven me right."
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Would that chevron-shaped district across our northern border elect someone who embraces President Trump's rollback of regulations that were designed to survive rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change, or someone who is "100 percent in favor of rolling back regulations like that."
Would any waterfront denizen vote for someone who believes the only fix for the National Flood Insurance Program is to "privatize it, absolutely, just offer higher premiums and let the market figure it out" - even though there is little evidence that the private market has the capacity to underwrite the growing risk?
Would anyone who agrees that record Gulf temperatures increased the severity of Harvey give credence to the counter-argument that "It's the worst storm in 600 years, but tell me this: What caused the one 600 years ago?"
Lonegan is the man who convinced Gov. Christie to pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and he will not acknowledge that it cost our state hundreds of millions in revenue.
He is also a man with a home in Lavallette, but he hasn't read the June report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, which states that sea level rise over the next two decades will bring "chronic disruptive inundation to Seaside Park and 14 more towns along the Jersey Shore that today rarely feel the effects of tidal flooding."
Time to invest in stilts and a snorkel, Steve.
If another Sandy strikes our state, no single issue will consume the time of a congressman more than the recovery. He would have to understand the scope of it. His office will be overwhelmed with constituent calls. He would need to galvanize the district, even tear down some soggy drywall back home. He would be the point man for 650,000 neighbors, and scrap for every nickel that aids their recovery.
But he should also think about the root causes of this tragedy and the most practical solutions going forward. It takes a dedicated person to do all this well. Voters who make the wrong choice do so at their peril.
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