Earth Day!

April 22, 2008. Happy Earth Day.
The other day a friend forwarded me what I thought was a great article from the NYT regarding climate change and personal responsibility:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine/20wwln-lede-t.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=4b8f85b0f7e2157a&ex=1209441600

I liked it so much I forwarded it to some more friends. To my surprise, one old buddy of mine replied with some information and links of his own, regarding "the global warming myth" (!)

I got invigorated, and composed the email you'll find below. I also found some great links which have helped my thinking on the subject, and I would encourage anyone/everyone, skeptic or believer to check out the following links:

1. this first guy is a science teacher, and has made it his personal mission to get the word out, and does so with eloquence and wit. He has dozens of videos, check out this one first, and proceed from there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oCYW4ScUnw

2. In turn, the same guy turned me on to this next link, which is just a tremendous resource:
http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

I know that the few people who actually read this blog are mostly looking for pictures of oTis and Ben, but these are issues important to me BECAUSE of oTis and Ben.... so check them out!

Here's my letter to Tom, feel free to skip!

Tom Tom Tom, my friend...
I was going to just let your reply go by uncontested, but then I realized that today is Earth Day (!) so I have to put 2 more cents into the kitty. If I was less tired after getting two screaming kids to bed, I'd compose on screen the reply I've been composing on/off all day in my head.... but it's late here in Alaska, so I'll take the easy way out (for now) and let the smart/goofy guy in this video present at least one interesting way of looking at the Global Warming Question:
View all 9 minutes at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_anaVcCXg&feature=related

Hey, Global Warming may not be happening at all, if you listen to some skeptics, or if it is, it aint our fault. (“not me, not me” screams Otis)

Perhaps... but I find it ironic that you, a guy who sells insurance for a living, an industry based entirely on the premise that "MAYBE bad stuff might happen, so you had better be prepared and reduce your risk" (i.e. buy coverage from me) has a hard time grasping the risk associated with not doing anything regarding climate change.

I accept the premise that global warming is a dire threat not only because of all the hard science and overwhelming evidence, but primarily and simply based on my own observations that "actions have consequences"... plain and simple. Put DDT in the food chain, and bird populations decline. Spill millions of gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound, and marine mammals die. Over-fish the North Atlantic, and the Cod fisheries in the Grand Banks grind to a halt. Smoke cigarettes, get sick. Drive your 4-wheeler on the Tundra or in the dessert, you tear it up. Burn fossil fuels at a tremendous rate, effect the delicate balance of the eco-system. It’s not rocket science. Just simple observations of the laws of cause and effect.

Typically, the folks who argue against doing something to protect the environment are the same folks who stand to profit from maintaining the status quo. Guys who cut old growth in the Pacific Northwest say that there is nothing wrong with dropping ancient trees… their livelihoods depend on that perspective. DOW argued vehemently that DDT was benign, and did not harm the environment. In the 1950’s, a well-known commercial aired on television, featuring a physician touting the health benefits of a good smoke.

When it comes to everyday folks and their reluctance to take action regarding the environment, I believe it fundamentally boils down to folks not wanting to be bothered. It’s just too much hassle to recycle, or walk, or turn off the lights. Here in SW Alaska folks can’t be bothered to turn their engines off while they spend an hour and a half eating breakfast inside the restaurant… just too dern much trouble to turn that key. These are the same people who complain that the fishing aint what it used to be, and the summers are getting warmer and the winters shorter. It’s far easier to say “there’s no proof! No need for me to change my lifestyle, or to reduce my consumption, or to feel responsible for my actions! I can’t be bothered. I’ll wait until the proof is in.”

Listen…. let’s disregard the entire Global Warming concept completely; just keep it out of the equation. Doesn’t the article I forwarded still make good sense? Doesn’t it still make good sense to walk more lightly on the earth, to drive less, consume less, throw away less, spend less, waste less… just simply because it’s the right thing to do? Because there are others in other places who don’t have enough, or who suffer as a result of our consumption? Wouldn’t Grandpa want us to turn off the lights when we leave the room, close the refrigerator door, eat what’s on our plate, just because it’s the right thing to do? Isn’t it ok for us to be inconvenienced, just a little, if it means we can reduce our impact? Isn’t the lesson we want to teach our boys to “take and use just what you need, no more?”

When I hear Rush and others say things like ‘the earth is just too big, nothing we as humans can do can have a lasting effect on the entire planet’ I think to myself here is someone who hasn’t traveled enough. Because what I’ve seen around the globe is that our actions have a very real and very significant impact on the planet… and I don’t need a scientist to tell me… I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Our actions can and do have an effect…. Locally and globally. The Earth aint really that big. And it belongs to all of us.

And all of us are stewards; responsible to leave things at least as good as we found them, if not better. I want your kids and my kids to be able to breath the air, roam the wilds, search for animals, and explore and experience the planet…. Just like we were able to do as kids. So forgive me if I crawl up on my high horse when I read your response about the ‘global warming scam’…. because I presume then that, since you seem to be suggesting our actions are not having a negative effect, we then have no obligation to change our actions or take responsibility. And to that, Sir, I soundly disagree!

Aren’t you glad this is the short version!? Watch the video, and let’s continue the conversation.
Yours in conservation,
JWL