It’s been a while since I graduated from USC. When I left, Jimmy Carter had just been elected president and Elvis was still shaking his then-considerable hips on stages across America.

I return this evening on a mission — to help citizens discover their voice and the power they have to make a difference, particularly when it comes to enacting policies that will keep the Earth livable for future generations.

For several decades now, scientists have warned about the disastrous consequences we’ll face in this century if we fail to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet and destabilizing our climate. Because of the lag time with the changes that are occurring, there is a certain amount of warming already “in the pipeline” that is unavoidable.

If we don’t act soon to reduce our carbon emissions, however, we’ll reach the tipping point where changes outpace our ability to adapt: Rising sea levels will create hundreds of millions of “climate refugees,” which will further destabilize fragile nations on the verge of becoming failed states. More frequent and severe droughts and floods will reduce the supply of food in an already-hungry world, sending prices to levels beyond the reach of the poor. Glaciers that supply water for a billion people will melt. In South Carolina, the sea will claim the beautiful beaches we enjoy, and summer temperatures go from miserable to deadly.

http://www.dailygamecock.com/