Well, how's the war on greenhouse gases going? Are we generating less CO2? Are we beginning cut back on the pollution in the world's atmosphere we breathe and the water we drink? How about the land itself, have we reduced the amount of contaminates and toxic chemicals there too? Can we be proud of our successes in these areas?
I'm sorry, but it appears we're not living up to our expectations. In fact in a lot of these areas, we're falling further behind. Take the goal of turning away from fossil fuel energy sources for instance. Since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, it has closed all it's nuclear power plants and it's goal of reducing carbon emissions by 25 % by 2020 will instead increase emissions by 3%. Germany also closed half it's reactors and plans to close the rest to use coal and gas instead, so you know what's gonna happen there. Worldwide, we're increasing earth's greenhouse gases and few are worried about it.
Now, as for me, I'm not likely to suffer to terribly much over the balance of my life, but then I'm old. Nor do I live near any ocean, and we've not been experiencing drought here and if it get's a little warmer in the Winter, I won't complain. Of course if it gets hotter in the Summer it means I'll have to stay indoors in air-conditioning, but I'm not seeing my home disappear under water. Food could become more of a problem. Affordable food, if it became scarce, might be troublesome but then I could afford to lose a little weight.
No I'm not likely to suffer like a lot of folks will before this thing is over. But a lot of folks around the world and around town will definitely feel the pinch. And it doesn't help when government is cutting back on safety-net programs and threatening to cut back even more. I suspect the wealthy have something to do with that. If you think you're paying too much of you're income to provide help to families that are struggling, and you're not, you're not going to be in favor of paying out any more on things you don't need. Now tax cuts, that's the kind of legislation you favor. Especially if you're getting favored status on tax exemptions.
The point is, all of this chatter has to do with climate change. And it won't matter whether you believe humans are to blame or not. You're still gonna feel the brunt of that change. Why wouldn't it make sense to stop pouring out carbon and begin to breathe a little fresher air? It might even open up new job opportunities. Take a chance. Where's the kind of courage our forefathers displayed?
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