Newswise — Dr. Monty Hempel is director of the environmental science department at the University of Redlands. He can speak with authority on climate disruption, environmental science and politics, and other environmental issues. 

"We can no longer deny that we live in an era of climate disruption. In 2017 alone we've had record 'hurricane trains' in Houston, Florida, and the Caribbean; record wildfires in California; and a long list of record temperature, precipitation, and drought events. It is already a record year for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters—and we still have two-and-a-half months left. The dire predictions of climate scientists have been spot on.  

"Human-caused climate change is a powerful amplifier— not necessarily the cause—of these disruptions.  

"Sadly, our understanding of human social systems and cultural identity is clearly not as good as our understanding of the climate system. It's time to stop placing ideology above science and common sense, and consider that politics is failing us; not science."

Hempel earned his Ph.D. in government, environmental policy and M.A. in international environmental policy at Claremont Graduate University; and B.A. in ecology and public policy at the University of Minnesota.