On MTV the president was asked why he did not mention it in the debates or any of the thousand talks he has given. He said he was "surprised" it did not come up in the debates. He not only did not bring it up, but talked animatedly about all the new drilling; even exporting oil. In the interview he said global warming, climate, is an issue for future generations. Really? It has been an issue for 40 years. Nor were we told of the countries that are busy reforming their energy generating to more renewables: less oil and coal. It can be done; it's being done.
Now four countries (of 193 in the UN) lead the massive pollution of land, water, and air. The US, Canada, China and India -- but China and India at least talk about global warming and climate change and try to do something. Would not be at all surprised if these four, approximately half the population of the world are responsible for 80% of the CO2 we are pushing into the atmosphere every day. Just two countries, China and the US, account for more than half.
Here in this country We the People are smarter than our government. The latest statistics I saw showed that now 60%, maybe more, not only believe in climate change (how can one deny it?) but is worried about it. They ask what can we do; what should we do; what must we do? Our governments, federal and state, give no answers. I guess that too must come from the bottom.
Use less gasoline, less electricity. A lot less. We can put pressure on our electric companies to change from using oil and coal to whatever renewable fits in their environment. Wind farms. Geothermal. Using the power of waves, the temperature difference between surface water and water in the deep. Give us a hand-up to put solar panels on our house as they did in Germany. I had a talk with someone from the electric company here and they were very frank to admit that they really do not like me to put solar panels on my house. I can afford only one or two solar panels and an inverter to make 110 volts so that it can feed into the grid. The company would not pay me what I pay for each kilowatt, at most half. "We don't like competition." Our electric company now has 30% (that's what the ads say) renewable sources: geothermal, two wind farms.
It is unimaginable that the big corporations don't know that the climate is getting more extreme and without changing our ways will warm the planet more than two degrees Centigrade, equal to 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 2 degrees is what all scientists agree would severely endanger the survival of our species. Why the frantic drilling for oil, digging as much coal as we can and then exporting it to China? Natural gas may be natural--as oil and gas are natural--but getting it out of the earth destroys the earth on a grand scale. Getting natural gas out of from under layers of rock is now known to dangerously pollute ground water.
What is it about humans? We are so clever inventing, creating, making. But we don't get that what we make, and how we make it, how we get the raw materials for the things we make--all that has consequences. We have never been told the true cost. We have known for at least half a century that our way of life is endangering the planetary ecology, causing global warming, which now manifests as climate change. We may think we own the planet, we may imagine that somehow someone will figure out a way to" whatever makes it possible for us to live forever as we do now. Economies that know only growth. A standard of living that is obviously unsustainable but we cannot do without.
Now geo-engineering has become a rogue science in the hands of rogue individuals. We are so utterly convinced that we can and must run this planet that we cannot keep from messing with nature. And every time the earth, nature, surprises us by reacting in ways we had not foreseen. We never learn. Human hubris ueber alles.
Read Naomi Klein: click here=2&_r=1
Of the 7+ billon of us a tiny fraction determines our fate as a species. The people who now run the four countries and so the world (I don't mean governments, but the people who really run the world) are probably something like one millionth of all humans, 0.000001%: about 7000 people. Even that sounds too large a number. We allow those few thousand people (who also now own most of the wealth of the planet) to endanger the lives of seven billion of us and the trillions of other life forms? Seeing to it that humankind as it is now may go extinct? Not in the far future, but very possibly within this century. It will hit our children and grandchildren. It already affects us. The crazy thing is that it will affect those 7000 as well. Perhaps they think their wealth will buy them" What? Survival? Don't they know that it is the Meek who inherit the earth. Don't they know the parable of the eye of the needle?
Most of us understand the difficult questions that are not asked any more but "they" have the power, the money, and the arms. What is left to us is to get ready for some big big storms: in winter big blizzards, in summer big tornadoes. Much wetter weather, much drier droughts. Future generations, Mr President? How about in your life time? At least this president knows there is such a thing as climate change. If Mr Romney is the next president it will be as climate scientists say: "game over."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
2
2
