We are at a “now or never” moment that requires us to make one choice in this presidential election. "We’re on the edge of breaking the planet’s climate system,” wrote Bill McKibben. The primary founder of the climate movement in the U.S. explained: “If we elect Donald Trump, we may feel the effects not for years, and not for a generation. We may read our mistake in the geological record a million years hence. This one really counts."

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that “any further delay in global action … will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable future for all.” It refers to the factor most feared by scientists — the tipping point when the breakdown of life support on earth begins to spin out of human control.

The tipping point

A tipping point does not mean that a hell on earth immediately breaks loose. It means that an unstoppable downward spiral has begun that will eventually turn into a hell on earth. Most Americans are under an impression that climate change will be gradual, and give us time to stop it or allow the world to adjust to it. There could not be a more dangerous delusion.

What will happen. A Washington Post article about last year’s IPCC report explains that “Basic components of the Earth system will be fundamentally, irrevocably altered. Heat waves, famines and infectious diseases could claim millions of additional lives.”

How soon could a tipping point arrive? In as few as ten years.

What can reduce that risk? We have to achieve prescribed levels of emission reductions before 2030. What does candidate Trump say about that? His stance is to wipe out emission controls, open the floodgate for fossil fuels and deny support to clean alternative energy.

If he’s elected, America will not meet the emission reduction deadline before 2030, and America’s example and huge economic influence will discourage other nations from meeting it. In that case, it would be, as climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania put its, “game over for climate action.”

There seems no way to avoid the conclusion that McKibben is right. We are standing on the cusp of an election in which not only is the fate of our democracy itself at stake but the fate of whether human society will ever be able to “turn the tide” in the race to avoid a climate tipping point.

Before it’s too late

How can I just stand by while such a darkened future is thrust upon the children I hear in the play yard? How can any of us? We feel the weight of the impending catastrophe, but we are such tiny pieces of this universe, single voters without any power.

For me, as a Franciscan brother, I realized I could bear witness to the danger. It came to me that I can stand at intersections where traffic is backed up during rush hour with a banner that illustrates the monumental choice in front of us. It will be seen, and people will know what the world faces. I pray that it might touch the conscience of some.

When I started doing this, the huge weight I felt began to lift. The key was to take action. I shared the troubling information with other brothers, but also invited them to act. Some did, and also reported a lifting away of the weight.

My appeal to anyone listening: This is not a normal election. A Trump-induced climate catastrophe would haunt humanity for the rest of human existence. This is not hyperbole, it is science.

The following prophetic words from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were directed toward nuclear war but apply to climate collapse: “Tomorrow is today. … We may cry out desperately for time to pause … but time is deaf and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words — 'Too late.’"

Gary Houser is a Franciscan brother volunteering with Benedictines for Peace to lead a climate bannering campaign in Pittsburgh and other parts of western Pennsylvania. He has produced educational videos on climate tipping points, one of which was shown at the COP26 global climate summit in Scotland.

First Published: November 4, 2024, 5:00 p.m.