Eight crucial years — lost
My wife just returned from San Luis Obispo, which is halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles and a 15-minute drive to the cooling waters of the Pacific Ocean.
On Friday, the temperature hit an historic high of 113. Yesterday it cooled off to 108, a record for the date.
You can add those numbers to all the other evidence that the Great Warming is happening, folks.
The irony is that eight years ago this nation actually elected a leader, Al Gore, who was committed to using the power of the presidency to reverse our destructive course.
Instead, the Supreme Court gave us a cheerleader-in-chief for the oil industry, and worse, its Godfather, Dick Cheney of Halliburton.
We just lost eight critical years.
The result has been an oil cabal of deceit and destruction. Of cutting behind-closed-door deals with Big Oil over a secret “energy policy.” If invading Iraq and wasting thousands of lives and billions secure its oil wealth. (American Oil companies are on the verge of striking long-term, no-bid deals with the Iraqi government. And who will protect those oil fields?) Of coddling the oil-rich Saudi Royal regime (democracy anyone?). The House of Saud, an old Bush family oil ally, nurtured the fanatical Islamic fundamentalist movement that, in turn, spawned Al Qaeda and, well, you can see where this is going.
And the Christian Right, fixated on abortion and blinded by its own self-righteousness, twice helped Bush gain office, thereby endangering God’s entire creation.
In today’s New York Times, Thomas Friedman lays out the most recent chapter in this tragedy: the off-shore oil drilling ruse.
Want some good news? Back in San Luis Obispo, it is starting to cool. Today’s high was 94.
On Friday, the temperature hit an historic high of 113. Yesterday it cooled off to 108, a record for the date.
You can add those numbers to all the other evidence that the Great Warming is happening, folks.
The irony is that eight years ago this nation actually elected a leader, Al Gore, who was committed to using the power of the presidency to reverse our destructive course.
Instead, the Supreme Court gave us a cheerleader-in-chief for the oil industry, and worse, its Godfather, Dick Cheney of Halliburton.
We just lost eight critical years.
The result has been an oil cabal of deceit and destruction. Of cutting behind-closed-door deals with Big Oil over a secret “energy policy.” If invading Iraq and wasting thousands of lives and billions secure its oil wealth. (American Oil companies are on the verge of striking long-term, no-bid deals with the Iraqi government. And who will protect those oil fields?) Of coddling the oil-rich Saudi Royal regime (democracy anyone?). The House of Saud, an old Bush family oil ally, nurtured the fanatical Islamic fundamentalist movement that, in turn, spawned Al Qaeda and, well, you can see where this is going.
And the Christian Right, fixated on abortion and blinded by its own self-righteousness, twice helped Bush gain office, thereby endangering God’s entire creation.
In today’s New York Times, Thomas Friedman lays out the most recent chapter in this tragedy: the off-shore oil drilling ruse.
Want some good news? Back in San Luis Obispo, it is starting to cool. Today’s high was 94.
Labels: Al Gore, George W. Bush, House of Saud, San Luis Obispo, Thomas Friedman
posted by Rick Seifert at
9:19 PM
3 Comments:
You're not too bright. I knew this was coming. Did you know that we had the coldest winter in decades? Did you forget about that? Did you know the earth has been cooling for ten years and NASA has just (quietly) revised their forecasts saying the next 10-20 will show worldwide cooling? Did you know the scientists at MIT are laughing at this whole swindle? Did you know that the meteorologist that began the Weather Channel called Global Warming a fraud? Did you know Gore refuses to debate ANYONE on this scam he's profiting from...the lsit goes on
I's called weather, not climate change. The weather is always changing.
Study history further back than one week.
If I'm "not too bright," I have a lot of "not too bright" colleagues in the scientific community.
Just who was it who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize in addition to Gore? I know, I know, it was awarded to more "not too bright" people" by "not too bright" judges.
You put yourself in a vulnerable position, anonymous, by accusing people who disagree with you of being ignorant. It smacks of arrogance.
I'd like to say check back in another eight years and we'll see who is right and wrong about this one.
Frankly, the growing evidence, from pole to pole, doesn't give us that luxury — thanks in large measure to the oil/automobile industry's and the Bush administration's business-as-usual, closed-loop greed.
As I say, we just lost eight crucial years.
The next administration is going to have to play some very, very quick catch-up. European policy-makers (more "not too bright" people?) are way out in front of us in the switch to alternative energy.
My guess is that even if John McCain is elected, he will be forced to change the government's direction — fast.
I have a question for anonymous: Assume for the sake of discussion you are correct, what is the harm of moving our country to energy independence using green technology?
Cleaner air to breathe? New jobs employing new technology? Less dependence on other countries? Fewer wars? A sustainable economy?
By any measure our country is not working. The discussion needs to center on what to do to get back on track, not on "is global warming real".
I have great difficulty giving credence to arguments made anonymously.
LeeLa Coleman
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