Climate Change Isn’t Going Away. Instead, It’s Accelerating and the Impacts Are Starting To Hurt. What Is Your Congressman Doing About It?
Al Hammond • September 15, 2020
Some evidence of climate change is hard to miss. Temperatures in Los Angeles last week reached 120 degrees; California’s wildfires are still out of control. Intense storms are becoming more common; over 800 tornados in the U.S. so far in 2020, and the National Hurricane Center has already tracked 20 tropical depressions, four of which became U.S. hurricanes, with more to come.
Other changes are more subtle but more alarming. The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is accelerating: it lost some 580 billion tons of ice last year, more than twice the average of the past 16 years. The trend is clear: since the 1990s, the Arctic region has warmed faster than any other part of the planet. And if—or perhaps when—all of Greenland’s ice melts, sea levels worldwide will rise about 24 feet.
It’s not just Greenland. A 40-year series of measurements of the extent of the Arctic sea ice shows a clear trend toward more melting each summer, creating larger ice-free areas and more melt ponds on the sea ice surface. Newly-published calculations suggest that the Arctic sea ice could disappear entirely by 2035. That would make a major impact on the climate, directly and indirectly. Ice reflects sunlight’s heat back into space, but water is dark and absorbs sunlight, increasing warming. An ice-free Arctic would also accelerate coastal erosion and likely doom polar bears. But the indirect impact of a warming Arctic region is that it would thaw the permafrost and release massive amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that absorbs and traps reflected solar heat in the atmosphere even more efficiently than does carbon dioxide.
Antarctica, the largest reservoir of ice on the planet, is warming too. A new study of the massive ice shelves hanging on the edge of that continent and floating on the ocean found that ice also in inexorable retreat, melting from the bottom up. Some four trillion tons of ice have vanished since the mid-1990s. And as the ice shelves disappear, the even larger glaciers behind them can accelerate their flow into the sea.
The melting of Earth’s ice means rising sea levels, both because of more water and because warmer oceans expand in volume. That means more coastal flooding and vulnerability to storms in ways that affect people’s lives. And despite President Trump’s repeated claim that climate change is a hoax, some 13 federal science agencies in a 2018 National Climate Assessment described as “unavoidable” the need to stop rebuilding vulnerable communities and instead move those communities out of flood zones. Already, U.S. federal policy is changing along those lines. Known as “Managed Retreat,” the new policy being implemented by the Army Corps of Engineers, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and by the Federal Emergency Management Agency will spend many billions of taxpayer dollars to relocate threatened communities, forcibly if necessary (by cutting off rebuilding aid). Some states are themselves implementing similar policies.
The impacts of rising waters and more intense storms affect other parts of the world too. Central America, with oceans on both sides of a relatively narrow strip of land, is among the most vulnerable to climate change. It is experiencing rising temperatures and increased flooding, as well as severe droughts and increased insect pests, all of which have pushed many small farmers (the region’s major occupation) into poverty. Climate change is thus a major reason for the flood of migrants from the region seeking to enter the U.S. (The Trump administration’s response has been to cut funds aimed at supporting agriculture and controlling gang violence in the region, and instead focus on building a wall to keep migrants out.)
Support for policies to address climate change is thus a pertinent issue for the upcoming election. For Maryland’s 1st Congressional District, the two candidates are Andy Harris (incumbent) and Mia Mason. Mason, a Democrat, has explicitly endorsed protection for the Chesapeake Bay and for efforts to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources to combat climate change. Harris, a Republican, also endorses protection for the Chesapeake Bay; but he previously opposed President Obama’s climate policies and does not mention climate change in his current literature and website. So there is a clear choice.
Al Hammond is an experienced science journalist, a former editor-in-chief of several national publications, who has also worked in healthcare in the U.S. and other countries.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
