The Truths--Global Warming

A 'sacred precinct' is what Rome was called in the 4th Century. Too far off the beaten trail to be relevant as far as conquering and administering was concerned, Rome, a city bloated with temples, palaces, fountains and theaters was simply no longer so relevant to the Empire. It's greatest value was what it offered in terms of the symbolism.

This week, in L'Aquila, Italy, the United States led by a popular president with a near cult-like following in the world, put forth drastic measures for uniting the world against the now-obvious and debilitating effects of global warming. China and the India, number one polluter and another country soon to overcome the US for its levels of CO2 emissions, both said with a resounding thud: no. "We don't agree with you so go home and bend to our needs if you want to find an agreement."

Having long been the nation that was able to coax the world to do things that would eventually prove good for all in the long run, America, under W, became a petty and vindictive nation seeking financial gain for its decreasing minority of wealthy ever at the expense of the nation's increasing percentages of poor; and, on a world stage, we did what we wanted, when and where with no regard for the opinions of others. We acted wrongly, callously and very hypocritically.

Today, while a lazy Europe longs for a more friendly and progressive American government after the catastrope that was W, the developing world has shown us again just how far we have fallen. Conservatives will blame Democrats and even President Obama, but, a nation's power and relevance can not be measured against itself in a mirror. If we have little diplomatic sway in the world, and just a massive army with thousands of warheads, then what real power do we have in 2009?

The Obvious

Leaving the facts and graphs and figures to Google, we are today living with the obvious effects of global warming. More so now than at any time in my life, we are witnessing strange weather occurrences throughout the world: torrential downpours for days on end, tornados in places never before seen (Moscow, Russia for one), heat waves in place like Oslo, Norway, litte or no snow in the Alps, extensive flooding, long winters evolving into a bizarre Spring-Summer period (Spummer), etc.

The world needs American leadership on this issue and our failures over the past 8 years emboldened the Chinese and Indians. A tarnished America came to L'Aquila reaching into a playbook with the title "Diplomacy: 1978." This was the year that the US led by Jimmy Carter signed an agreement with Canada and Norway outlawing chloroflourocarbons (CFCs). While Europe declined to join, 10 years later they did and today the Ozone layer is again intact and danger averted.

The key here to victory was the bold and smart action of the Carter Administration. Sadly, if this problem had arisen in 1983, the Republicans would have said that this treaty would force too harsh terms on American industry and so, they would not have passed legislation. Their view would have been: let the world act first and then we will follow. Yet, what boggles my mind, is that when there is a chance to effect change through leadership in diplomatic cirlces, on things such as the CFC issue, Republicans consider this weakness. For the conservative movement, it is only our army and American so-called "free enterprise" which has any relevance. If we look at the world today compared to the way it was when President Clinton handed the keys to the mansion over to W in 2001, those two things they so worship have actually weakened us.

Name-calling

In Russia, there exists a wonderful tactic when you want to tear a good person down: swear on everything holy, promise away your unborn children if you are wrong, but, find the craziest lie about the person you seek to tarnish and start telling this new "truth" to all who will listen. A man who never drinks, perhaps, just because he does not like it, would be called a raging alcoholic. The key to this tactic is that when enough people hear, it then becomes the duty of the accused to prove that this is not true. And, in Russia, if, in your indignation at such an accussation you become too emotional, then your denial becomes almost an admission.

The Bush II administration learned this lesson well. The government under W spent its resources not studying how we might prevent this catastrophe; but, rather how doubt could be cast on the motivations of those suggesting that this castastrophe was imminent. Beginning with their mockery of Gore, the man they love to say "invented the internet", to anyone else who dared say that global warming was real, they ran Soviet-like disinformation campaigns. We, the believers in global warming, became granola-eating, tree-hugging, pot-smoking, baby-eating freaks.

So successful they were that today when the topic arises in casual conversation in the US, many people, despite willing to admit that the weather is getting weird, still love to toss out the notion that perhaps this is all just cyclical. W so perfectly politicized this issue, that today, as we saw in L'Quila, America's leadership has not only been questioned but simply ignored. As we all know, if not America, then who will lead? The rest of the world selfishly almost always puts their interests first until America forces them to act differently. With the new found power of China and India, real change cannot be realized unless we truly make economic sacrifices as per the demands of the Chinese (thanks W yet blame will go to Obama).

Stop Eating

Every processed morsel of food we plop into our mouthes contributes to global warming. Every time we drive to the corner for a paper and coffee, we are increasing our carbon foot-print. Every time we buy a strawberry in December (depending on where you live), we are worsening the problem. The battle for global survival must commence not only in L'Aquila at the G-8 meeting but with each and everyone of us. But, sadly, W has given America as way out.

To alter our eating, exercise and living habit is difficult. For many, it is simply too late. So, marketers make it easy for us. They sell us "green" this and that, adding a nickle or so to the price with promises that this more-costly technology will help in the battle against global warming. And, for most Americans, this is where their participation ends.

When they are confronted with real sacrifice, the need for real change, they can always pull out news articles or Fox and CNN broadcasts showing how a government study has nearly "proven" that the increasing temperatures are not only just cyclical but actually GOOD for the earth. So, in other words, consume more, the study suggests. Yes, this is an exaggeration (I hope), but, these are the types of "studies" that the W people were putting out. And, rather than walk to the 7/11, someone can always claim that they are doing their patriotic duty by driving.

Ultimately, the W people have linked belief in the imminent castastrope of global warming to anti-Americanism, socialism, support for terrorists, liberalism and all of the other emotive terms that so fire up and unite their base of, yes, "dumb" people. Elitist, you say? Maybe, but, I would rather be elitist than "dumbist" and this is precisely what the conservatives have let flourish in our nation today: simply crazy ideas backed by only emotion and rhetoric which just make people sound dumb and make those of us trying to debunk them sound elitist and un-patriotic--very Soviet, indeed.

It is time to de-politicize global warming. It is time to agree that we may go down in history as the greediest and most selfish generation if we don't start making changes, all of us, small ones and then bigger ones, in our daily lives. If we don't start demanding that our elected officials stop caving into the interests of big business, then soon, very soon, there won't be anything left of our grand experiment.

Global warming threatens not just our lives in the physical sense, it threatens that great, yellowed document, the US Constitution, in ways more real than W and Cheney even managed. Now, I will grab my raincoat and walk to work.