Who (wheeze) needs (wheeze) the EPA, anyway? (wheeze)

Sometime this year, an iceberg the size of Delaware will be born at the bottom of the world.

And scientists don’t know why C, the ice shelf that will calve the iceberg, is splitting. A rift in the shelf that is 3 miles deep and about as wide as six I-10s has been growing in unnatural spurts since 2014. It is about 10 miles from the breaking point.

The worrisome Antarctic warming that led to the demise of s B and C, both of which started melting and then shattered, one in 1995, the other in 2002, probably is not to blame for Larson C’s growth spurt, scientists say, “but it certainly hasn’t helped.”

The good news? The creation of the iceberg won’t raise the sea level much, as it will be born from a shelf already afloat. The bad news? A break this size could destabilize the inland glaciers, which could significantly raise the sea level should they slip into the ocean and melt.

It will be just the latest in curious phenomena to afflict the Earth. Just last week, an F-3 tornado touched down in New Orleans. It was the strongest tornado on record in the city. Last summer, a rainstorm parked over Baton Rogue and dumped enough water, by some estimates, to fill Lake Pontchartrain four times. Rivers reached record flood stages.

That is what climate change looks like — no matter how many times a denier rides a dinosaur bareback through a snowstorm shouting, “Where’s your global warming now?” These are the canaries in our coal mine.

Sounds like the perfect time to get rid of the agency tasked with protecting the environment.

Well, U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo is way ahead of the curve. Last week, he signed on to a bill written by a freshman Redneck Riviera congressman that would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency.

They say the states would be better suited to do the EPA’s job.

You heard right. Florida and Mississippi would be better suited to protect our air, land and water than Uncle Sam. Yes, Florida. Land of toxic algae and sinkholes. That Florida.

Or Mississippi. Left to its own devices, Mississippi probably would be sitting pretty atop nuclear waste–filled salt domes.

The problem with Palazzo’s thinking is pollution refuses to respect state borders. That’s right. There’s nothing to keep Alabama or Louisiana from enjoying sooty air that rightfully belongs to us.

There are those among us who claim they believe we can dump, burn and spew with impunity. The Earth, the saying goes, can take it.

The Earth says otherwise. Since 2001, according to NASA, the planet has had 15 of the 16 warmest years on record. The seas are rising. Oceans are warming and increasing in acidity. Ice sheets are shrinking. Glaciers are retreating.

These are measurable changes. About 95 percent of scientists actively publishing work in the field of climate science believe it. But about half the general public doesn’t.

Palazzo and his political colleagues are to blame. The EPA has been their bogeyman for years.

But the EPA has proven to be visionary. In the early 1970s, the fledgling agency sent photographers across America to record the state of the environment. Now they have photographic evidence of the improvement.

Of course, you don’t have to believe your eyes. Or Congress’ 19 percent approval rating.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Who (wheeze) needs (wheeze) the EPA, anyway? (wheeze)."