Dear Friend and Reader:
I read somewhere on this site, “the future is a moving target.” Nothing could be more true than with current events in environmental policy in Washington, D.C.
Monday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its policy that greenhouse gases are a public health threat. This means the government, through the EPA, can begin to act to curb the effects of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act without long debate in Congress over whether or not climate change does exist or that greenhouse gases: methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride — are dangerous to your health. Furthermore, yesterday Congress rejected calls to limit the EPA’s role in defining policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions. This is quite a turnaround from Congress six years ago, when the Bush Administration’s EPA promoted business interests over that of public health, and Congress gave it a rubber stamp approval.
While Monday’s EPA announcement is long overdue, we’ve had eight years of denial close to medieval thinking to get over. The same type of thinking led by a dangerous mix of science, Bible-based ideology and greed for profit denying the danger of greenhouse gases and their effect on the overall warming of the planet. In that denial, thinking and even knowledge was prohibited from expression.
There are many who are still skeptical of the entire global warming premise — that is that modern-day humans, our cities, our factories, our food production, created this climate change we are all experiencing. Scientific debate is going on right this second arguing for either side. And that, I believe, is healthy. Even as someone who suspects greenhouse gases are probably responsible for climate change, and caused by so many of us humans here on earth, I still side on the side of balance for this argument to take place.
We have been handed one side or the other, sometimes, to mutual exclusion, that a full out argument is important, if not crucial if we’re to step on this orb together. Prior to this week’s greenhouse gas policy, its been eight years businesses shunted aside decades of EPA regulations to ignore clean air and water regulations for the sake of profit. A lot of damage has been done.
A little sanity, hearing each other out instead of drowning each other out, is in order even while we draw lines in the sand. So what if we don’t believe each other at the moment? If there are logical arguments against the case of human-caused greenhouse gases, I want to hear them. But this time, let’s hear both sides instead of just one, and let the premise based on reality and not ideology or wishful thinking, win. We don’t have much time. We don’t know how much or how little, so the sooner we get smart, the better.
Yours & truly,
Fe Bongolan
San Francisco
Speaking of democracy, something interesting is airing on the History Channel this coming Sunday night:
The People Speak
I’ll never forget my first reading of Zinn’s “Peoples’ History,” just a few short years ago. Wow.
LindaGM:
Your comment reminds me of a piece I need to write about the group effort called democracy. The Greeks coined the concept in a word, but it also meant endless hours of debating, conversing with and agreeing to disagree with others. I think what we’ve got in our modern day western world of the US is isolationism, which is anathema to democracy. We need to be loud and discoursive, we need facts at our fingertips, and we need each other to bounce off ideas. We can’t do that if we’re constantly listening to the echo chambers of agreement, or pundits blowing words out of their nether region.
Thank goodness – I feel so much better hearing that other minds are also curious about where new truth may emerge.
I spent precious hours yesterday trawling the skeptics sites ( ie http://icecap.us/index.php) with a single minded intensity that surprised me.
Felt oddly ‘guilty’ for abandoning my own ‘position’ to trawl the climate change skeptics sites but followed the feeling anyway that compelled me to check them out in the search for balance and separating wheat from spin on both ‘sides’.
There is a LOT going on – this is a characteristic of robust debate, is it not? No clear answers, no safe position, all bets off in a swirling mass of information, factoids, emotion, positionality and the odd bit of common sense.
Whew – being a citizen in a democratic society takes work – still digesting the diversity. [burp]
Fe,
I just love it when you talk dirty air and water. When I remember where the general attitude toward greenhouse gases, et al, was about 10 years ago I can’t help but imagine how far we will have come in 10 years from now. It can seem like forever to make progress in areas where we feel the need is urgent, but just think how the history books (or whatever form reading takes is in 50 years) decades from now will describe the uphill climb to save the planet that people like you (and Al Gore !) made to make it happen.
Thanks for keeping us abreast, and I love your fair and balanced attitude too.
..Yes, INFORMation!. Good stuff.
.. “..all or nothing,.. polarizing,..” .If one doesn’t “know”, just say so!!. It’s all cool! No harm! No foul!
I’m saying (perhaps to debate) screw the debate. (That’s laughs).
What I suggest is we take a look at every single aspect of our “being”, Understand what vibration it flows (supports /or contributes to/or exacerbates), Then, take the time/will/effort/ambition/volition.. to manifest the idealism (that “we” so often project out onto others,.. as far as “THEM” “Deciding” “Our fate”.), and *”WE”* “storm” this world on ‘our own terms’, denying any b.s. that stands in our way, as far as the horse and the stick, the dog and the lead. While, all the while, we manifest ‘contribution’ toward our fellow earthlings in the here and now, while eyeballin’ that beautiful Pie coolin’ in the window! How tasty it is in “YOUR” world! (“MY” world) (“I AM”)
..If we open up a steady, balanced dialogue,.. it will flow. (Polarization is rampant, but the idea of interconnectedness is uber-pervasive!)
Time. , .. and Clarity. , ..(Personally).., will keep us on the move.
I respect the assertion for communication regarding ‘Mama Earth’ and Her climate. We will have MANY more conversations on this in the present-future. (I’m glad you’re at the table.)
..Until we ‘Wake Up’, ‘there’s all’s just word’s!, on paper, in light and shadow, animated, or blank.. ..none of it matters ’til we can account for our own placement within the ebb and flow. (Then we get some real action, and are able to flux the flow!)
..glancing excursion.. Pardon!
PEACE
Len::
Oh my gosh – from your comment and looking in at today, its something to note that we’ve been in an all-or-nothing scenario with little or no rationale on either right or left of this battle for some upteen years. And we’re faced with becoming more and more done with polarizing battles, and just need solutions. Sounds familiar? How fricking-Pluto-in-Capricorn we are!!!
Fe,
Thank you for all the had work you have been doing on this issue for Planet Waves. Your post of the comment by Paul Krugman to the blog below (“The Courage to Do Nothing?”) was especially helpful. Most of all, whether it be the war(s) or the climate your encouragement to keep a level head and an informed, open mind is exactly what humanity needs most right now. i know you have been a crucial influence and made a positive difference in my life lately. Wish we had a million like you.