Attributing All Weather Extremes to Human Climate Change is Irresponsible, and Socialists Need to Challenge Such Irresponsibility, Part Two

Climate change 1 Minute

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on his Facebook page (July 17, 2024):

The flooding that hit Toronto yesterday is an indication of the extreme weather that is intensifying under the impact of climate change. Seeing this, it is easy to understand that such developments will change the nature of our struggles and generate a need for solidarity for survival.

Like his recent claim that a heat wave in Toronto is due to climate change (see  https://wp.me/p9IiIC-5cw), Clarke provides no evidence to substantiate his view the flooding was caused by climate change.

Clarke’s assertion is not a conclusion at all but mere opinion. Such an approach does the socialist movement no good. It will not convince the regular worker, citizen, immigrant or migrant worker about the seriousness of climate disaster. On the contrary, it will likely tend to discredit socialist arguments.

Were there not floods in Toronto before? Were they for the most part a result of human climate change? Are there not other human activities that have no direct relation to climate change possible causes of the flood? For example, Anna Jessup, another socialist here in Toronto, recently posted on Facebook:

Just a reminder that Toronto was built in a basin surrounded by a greenbelt. If you think today’s flooding was bad, you’re not ready for what’ll happen if Doug Ford gets his way to develop the greenbelt [the Conservative leader of Ontario, Doug Ford, tried to develop the greenbelt, allegedly for housing development, but there was sufficient resistance to have him reverse his decision].

The greenbelt plays a crucial role in absorbing water, among other things. If you destroy it, and cover it in concrete and asphalt, where do you think all the water’s gonna go?

The fact that climate disaster is real does not give socialists the right to make exaggerated and unfounded claims, as Clarke seems to do repeatedly on the topic of climate change.

Should not socialists challenge such irresponsible assertions?

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Published by The abolitionist

I come from a working-class background. My lost paid job was a teacher, substituting for a number of years before obtaining a permanent position. I obtained my doctorate in 2009. I am an unapologetic critic of capitalism and the way in which various institutions and ideologies reinforce it.

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