Global warming isn't our fault. It's natural, and
paleoclimatologists have identified numerous instances of it in
the past three million years, since the rising of Central
America changed our ocean currents and destabilized earth's
climate. We're speeding it up somewhat, but to claim that we
could reverse it is just not true. We have to plan, not play
politics.
All the blaming of mankind for this problem has made us into
global warming ostriches. This is not a new species of
feathered friend especially adapted for warmer weather. It
isn?t Big Bird, it?s us.
Here's another example of the same thing. For years, there
have been researchers who say that AIDS isn?t caused by
HIV. One of the loudest proponents of this theory is the head
of an African nation who obviously wants to save face on
behalf of his people. And there is some evidence to back this
up?but there?s much more evidence that HIV does cause
AIDS, so we?d better try to take precautions against HIV
infection. The bulk of the research points in that direction, so
that?s what we follow when it comes to public health policy.
In a similar fashion, certain pundits regularly come up with
the theory that global warming isn?t real. Some of these
people run oil and gas companies, or accept political
contributions from them, so they may have special reasons
for saying this, just like that African leader. Others sincerely
believe these assertions.
And, like the HIV/AIDS question, there is some evidence to
back this up, but what?s most important is that there is much
more evidence to back up the theory that an excess of CO2
emissions is causing a greenhouse effect, leading to global
warming.
Fingers are pointed, and a promise is made: if only we clean
up our act, we'll be saved. This causes many of us to just
keep our heads in the sand like ostriches when it comes to
global warming. We?d like to believe the minority who say it
isn?t in our future, because we?re sick of the guilt. We don?t
want to go without air conditioning and SUVs, despite the
fact that most of the world still does. We don?t want to be
made to feel guilty because we?re lucky enough to live in the
richest country in the history of mankind. We want to enjoy
our luck, not be ashamed of it.
When these feelings come up, it?s important to realize that
it?s not necessary to feel guilty when you accept the facts
about global warming. Global warming is part of a natural
earth cycle. Human beings developed on this planet at a time
when the Earth was unusually cool. Now the planet is
warming up again, as part of its natural cycle. No matter
what we do, this is going to happen, and probably there will
be another ice age afterward as well.
It?s true that a small part of this warming cycle is being
accelerated by greenhouse gas emissions. That?s the part we
can change and that?s why we?re being exhorted to conserve,
to use wind power, etc. We can help, but we probably can
never help enough to reverse the natural process.
So is it even worth trying?
Well, in a word, yes. We can plan for it just like we plan for
hurricanes and build tornado shelters. We know it's coming
because nature is sending it our way. So let's get ready.
We might be able to buy ourselves some time if we act wisely
now. We could study agriculture and be ready to plant food
crops in new places when the old farming areas turn into
deserts. We could help the populations of third world
countries figure out how to survive on something other than
sustenance farming so that they don?t starve by the millions
when the weather warms up a few degrees. We could shore
up our coastlines, so large parts of our cities don?t become
permanently flooded, and try to find some solutions for the
island nations that are destined to disappear under the ocean
in 50 years.
We live in an era when the corporate CEO style of doing
business has been adopted by the federal government. This
involves planning ahead only a few years?just long enough
to cash in your stock options and retire. In the past, family
businesses wanted to stay intact so they could pass on
something to their kids; these days business only cares about
keeping their stockholders happy during the next quarter. The
federal government doesn?t want to plan past the current 4
years, when the mess they?ve made can be handed over to
the next administration.
Unlike the feds and CEOs, most of us care greatly about the
future, because we?ve got children and grandchildren. We
want them to be as lucky as we?ve been?maybe more. If we
can buy some time by making the right decisions now, we
may be able to plan for a warmer future that works. And
there?s nothing like action to stave off guilt.
Global warming guilt doesn't help anybody, any more than
pretending that this natural cycle isn't happening, or that we
are entirely responsible for it. Intelligent planning for the
inevitable is the only sensible course of action.
Related Entries:
04-Jun-2004: What's it Like?
22-Oct-2003: A Mouse That Roars the Truth
