This evening I sat in front of the TV watching scenes of the devastating floods in Pakistan. The stories are about spreading disease, malnutrition, polluted water, lack of toilets and unsanitary conditions -- all the results of those floods. The country has not seen such a bad flood and this kind of disaster in recorded history -- until now.
This morning I read of the opening of the Northwest Passage through the ice of the Arctic for the fourth year in a row, another event not seen in recorded history -- until now.
Last month there were record-setting hot temperatures throughout northwestern Russia covering an area nearly as large as the USA, along with devastating wildfires and a drought that destroyed the wheat harvest, events not seen in recorded history -- until now.
I continue to hear shrill arguments that these problems are not the result of climate change caused by human activities. Denialists keep saying that there is nothing we can do; it is not "our" problem. I really cannot understand the logic, or lack of logic, these people use.
The primary reality is that climate change is happening, and it is the root cause of the devastation and record changes we are seeing in our world. To argue that it is not "our" problem is absurb. At the very least we have to live with the changes that are happening. We must become proactive rather than reactive. We need to act in anticipation of what most probably will happen, rather than act in desparation when something comes along and wrecks our world.
If you disagree with me and say we should keep our heads in the sands, I am quite willing to leave you there with your head stuck where the sun don't shine while I look for a better alternative. You find your fate, I will find mine -- just don't say I didn't tell you so.
I believe the second reality is that the evidence that the emissions of green house gases by our society are causing this change is too solid to be ignored. The human race, and our western economic society in particular, should accept responsibility for causing those changes, and we have a moral requirement to adjust our style of living to limit further change.
As part of this second situation, I have decided to place the blame for climate change directly on our way of life. I plan to call it like I see it, without apologizing if I step on someone's toes. I have friends who don't want to be blamed for the mess of devastation that is happening in our world, but I will quit trying to avoid ruffling their feathers. It is time to blame our society, and the way we live, for climate change.
And back to the first situation, things are changing, and I and you should get busy deciding how we need to change our lives to adjust to the new conditions coming down the pike at us. For instance, use solar power and use the LEDs that make solar a viable alternative.
That's it for now. More thoughts along this line will follow
Sam Penny, the Prudent RVer
