Backing Out of the Paris Climate Accord Is Terrible, But We’ll Get Through It

Try as we might, there is no getting around the fact that the United States is a pariah in the world, having become the only one of 188 sovereign countries on the planet that is refusing to work in concert with the people of the world to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.  The Trump administration’s submitting to the United Nations a formal notification of its withdrawal from the Paris agreement is an indelible black mark in American history, one that history will never forget.

Having said that, like so many horrible situations, this one has caused good things to crop up and heroes to emerge.  From Newsweek:

“In response to that action, U.S. governors from California, New York and Washington State launched the United States Climate Alliance to affirm their commitment to uphold the goals of the Agreement,” said the alliance in a statement. “We are now a bipartisan coalition of 25 governors and must stand up—once again—to reaffirm our commitment to supporting climate action and to strongly oppose the Administration’s decision to formally withdraw from the Paris Agreement. We believe all leaders have a critical responsibility to address the global climate crisis.

Nice to see. As I often tell my kids when they’re going through a low point, “We’ll get through this.”