I'm sure there are a few people out there for whom the weather can NEVER be hot enough. But for most of us, the extreme heat we're now experiencing is miserable and even dangerous. It's also deeply disturbing. As Bob Herbert writes in today's New York Times:
For the past couple of days it has tormented the East Coast, draining power systems and creating a hellish environment for the frail and infirm, and especially for the elderly poor struggling to survive without the blessings of air-conditioning.You can+óGé¼Gäót blame any single weather event on global warming. But with polar bears drowning because they can+óGé¼Gäót swim far enough to make it from one ice floe to another; with the once-glorious snows of Kilimanjaro about to bring down the final curtain on their long, long run; with the virtual disappearance of Lake Chad in Africa, which was once the size of Lake Erie, it may be time to get serious about trying to slow this catastrophic trend.
That's right, the extreme temperatures we're experiencing are not simply a "normal" summer heat wave in progress. Instead, this is obviously part of a broader phenomenon, one that Al Gore explains extremely well in his powerful, frightening movie about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth." In that movie, Gore notes that:
...of the 21 hottest years ever measured, 20 have occurred within the last 25 years. And the hottest year of this recent hottest wave was last year.
I believe this is what's known by statisticians as HIGHLY "statistically significant." Believe it or not, though, there are still people out there who deny the evidence all around them - heat waves, hurricanes, drowing polar bears, melting ice caps People like Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who actually calls the overwhelming scientific evidence about global warming "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people." Sort of like evolution, perhaps (see below; "Kansas Evolves")?
What about George Allen? Here's his response to a concerned constituent on the subject:
"Thank you for contacting me regarding greenhouse emissions," Allen's message begins. "I appreciate your concerns and value your input on this important matter. Although the human contribution seems minimal, I'm glad . . . "
The human contribution "seems minimal?!?" Uh George, what planet are YOU living on? This is as plain as the football in your hand: carbon concentrations in the atmosphere have been spiking over the past 50 years or so, way above levels they have EVER BEEN ON THIS PLANET. What could have caused such a spike? Natural cyles, which have NEVER OCCURRED BEFORE IN EARTH'S HISTORY? Or, perhaps, could it be the obvious explanation that humans are pouring 27 BILLION tons of carbon dioxide every year? And that carbon dioxide is a powerful "greenhouse gas," thickening the atmosphere in a way that traps increasing amounts of the sun's heat in the earth? Or so you, George Allen, and your buddy James Inhofe, have an alternate scientific explanation after your own painstaking (no doubt) anlaysis of the evidence and data? Right, I didn't think so.
Can we please - PLEASE - get clowns like George Allen and James Inhofe out of the U.S. Senate, before they do any MORE damage to the world?
Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign. The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.
I was very disapointed with Kellam at the last debate when he said he didn't know enough about golbal warming to have an opinion.
It isn't enough to ridicule idiots like Allen and Inhofe. Democrats need to lead. It ought to be a major theme of the national Democratic campaign to achieve energy independence.
But I agree: Democrats, including Jim Webb, need to come out hard on this. If they don't, they strike me as triangulating craven cowards. Once more.
They are blowing the tops off of mountains in West Virginia and ruining the lives of the people who live there. Is Virginia next?
If people will realize that who loves who doesn't affect them but who can't survive anymore does.
"The same love for God and neighbor that compels us to preach salvation through Jesus Christ, protect the unborn, preserve the family and the sanctity of marriage, and take the whole Gospel to a hurting world, also compels us to recognize that human-induced climate change is a serious Christian issue requiring action now. http://www.christian...
To make clear our views and commitment, as evangelical leaders we have issued the statement Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action. We invite you to read and reflect upon it and share your views with us.
We also encourage you to take action today to address climate change. We believe the problem is serious, but that cost-effective solutions are available that will also create jobs, clean up our environment, make us more efficient, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, thereby enhancing our national security. Working together, and with God's help, we can make a difference."
Again, Senator Allen toes the Bush Whitehouse party line.
Personally, though global warming is a big concern, I'm convinced we are more at risk from destabilization of our economy due to poor energy policy. Unless we want to be living like Israelis - rifle in hand, sleeping in a shelter, it is time to get serious about that monkey on our back - energy source & consumption.
54% think its Global Warming
46% think its a Natural Trend
While this poll isn't statistically accurate, I think it does show the general attitude of CNN readers reasonably well. And I'd classify those readers as moderate to slightly left based on previous polls. Were not talking hard core right wingers with this opinion.
So, despite all the recent press Global Warming is getting it would appear that the public still doesn't get it. Or don't want to because it might mean a change of lifestyle.
Instead of the tragedy of smokers losing their lungs, we're going to face our entire existence being put at risk. This is a crisis right now.
The fact that Allen says their is minimal human impact proves he's too stupid for office or he's too corrupt.
In other words, WE ARE ALL "THE PROBLEM."...and with the births outpacing the deaths on earth, we are a growing problem....until individuals start trying to change their own lifestyles to do "a little here and there" to make a change.
(I am baught insulation and radiant-barrier material for my attic. It's not much, but it will help me use less and pay less too....More $ for those hamburgers. (Also, radiant-barrier is worth a dollar for dollar tax credit. In other words, its free.)