How often do you get warnings? Who was listening when pundits suggested that relations among Japanese Americans were so bad that an attack was imminent? Who paid attention when the experts said that Germany could regroup and strengthen for World War II? Were you first in line to get vaccinated against polio? When did you finally accept that Nixon should resign? Did Generals Shinseki and Powell seem absurd when they warned more than four years ago that the United States would need several thousand troops to deal with ethnic tensions, post-hostility geographic control, and to ensure people had food and water or not? Would we be able to secure Iraq?
Have you already canceled your credit cards and cut them in half? How do you react to more personal warnings? Do you argue that the experts do not know what they are talking about? Have you used a condom every time you’ve had sex since the early 1980s or are you betting your life that your partner is faithful to you or that HIV infection only happens to other people? Do you order an organic vegetable salad for lunch as your doctor suggests or do you continue to eat only cows and potatoes in search of a heart?
Are you exercising every other day for thirty minutes hard enough that you can barely talk? Or do you take a little walk with the dog and your tummy? Looking for sympathy because your organs are falling apart after decades of mistreatment? Have you noticed that fixing bugs later, instead of earlier, is really expensive?
Do you pay attention to expert Dr. Blane Crandall, Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, who reported to the United States Senate that menopausal women benefit from prescribed bioidentical hormones because the risk of disease and mortality is reduced? “Women who take hormones not only improve their bone health, but their entire bodies benefit…a woman’s memory, heart, colon, skin, sexual organs, and bladder all benefit from the continued use of hormone replacement therapy Or do you believe what a newspaper article said about horse urine hormones?
Does it make sense to take care of your health today the way experts suggest instead of paying for doctors and surgeries later? Would these same principles hold true for Mama Earth? Voices everywhere are shouting an insistent warning over the entire Planet.
A 2004 Pentagon report urged global warming to be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a national security concern, warning us of rapid climate change, the possibility of global famine, and wars over dwindling resources. such as drinking water. “Over the course of the century, water supplies stored in glaciers and snow cover are projected to decline, reducing water availability in meltwater-supplied regions of major mountain ranges, where it currently lives. more than one sixth of the world’s population. (IPCC, 2007). Imagine two billion thirsty and desperate people! This protest is not the same as a shameful push to clean up your own trash and recycle. No, this is a major retouching from all areas of science, an urgent consensus from experts around the world that we must act now.
As the biggest polluter, the United States is coming under heavy pressure to change from around the world. Do you listen, do you really listen, to experts and not to people with political agendas or advertising and media connections? US citizens take a while to process and form an opinion. We are busy doing many important things like soccer, business meetings, and fundraising. Our government moves at a snail’s pace, and our hearts move even slower. However, the buzz about global warming is heating up. What’s all the noise about? Our atmosphere holds too much CO2, a waste product that comes from our dirty laundry, like burning coal and oil. On 75% of the annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is due to the burning of fossil fuels.
The remaining 25% it occurs when forests are converted to grassland, grassland to agriculture, and agriculture to urban areas, which has the effect of reducing net carbon dioxide uptake. Temperatures are projected to rise between 1.4 and 5.8°C this century, representing a much faster rate of warming than during the 20th century. CO2-trapping heat is bad news, but the really uncomfortable part is that the dire consequences are happening faster than expected. Factual evidence before our eyes, like drowning polar bears and penguins, may break our hearts, but it still won’t make us change our light bulbs. In its most recent report (2007), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that surface temperatures could rise by as much as 10.4 degrees F during this century, and sea levels could rise by nearly six meters. Since scientists underreported or overlooked the actual effects in previous scientific papers, we can assume that the real facts are much worse than reported.
If we list the annual causes of death of humans or species on a graph, terrorism is way down and global warming is way up. That’s the weird disconnect. Tunnel vision politicians spend our tax dollars like a schoolgirl on daddy’s credit card and sweep bigger issues under the rug for the next generation to sort out. I wish the people who voted for the bad decisions were the only ones to suffer, but never have so many lives been controlled by so few individuals. When global mistakes are made or problems are ignored, we all suffer and so do our grandchildren. However, we have been warned. Complacent and self-centered, we will eventually change light bulbs, buy energy-efficient vehicles, and bury carbon emissions.
The day will come when American law says we must or incur heavy fines, and probably not a day before then. When the law requires you to replace old refrigerators, ovens and furnaces with ENERGY STAR efficient models that reduce energy use by nearly two-thirds, then you will. A “carbon tax” (a tax that reflects the actual cost of cleaning up carbon pollution) will force the change because there are expensive fines to avoid. Governments can reward all citizens who install solar, wind, along with other smart energy and clean global action by providing substantial tax relief.
City governments can give homeowners who plant a shade tree a significant tax break. The tasks sound pretty easy. Is any of this as bad as standing in line without shoes every time you fly? Americans can adapt, we are so slow and lazy about it. However, one real silver lining is that almost all Americans are law-abiding citizens. We follow the rule of law. You can complain, but turn these recommendations from world experts into American law. Then withhold US dollars from any person or any country that does not comply. Bingo, Cooler Earth! Tell your grandchildren that you accept personal adult responsibility and that you will be changing the light bulbs in your home and office this weekend. Tell them you are listening to the experts. Protect your loved ones and others from an unnecessary Katrina or Tsunami, drought, species extinction or war? Proactively ensure that the beachfront property you promised to leave them stays right where it is today: on the shoreline.
