Letters to the Editor
human power
Published Letters: 91 Editor's Choice: 26
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Tick, tick, tick...
[Read the article: Lifestyles of the green and Californian]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Those who have followed the global warming issue for more than a few years have no doubt noticed that, for the past decade, whatever the worst-case scenario was 3-6 months ago is the new expected outcome. I do not know if this is because of a natural tendency to interpret the data as conservatively as possible in order to not be viewed as alarmist or whether it is due to the limitations of the current climate models or the fact that we are continually producing (from fossil-fools) and releasing (from arctic melt) ever-increasing amounts of greenhouse gasses on a planet that has an ever-decreasing ability to absorb them (more acidic oceans absorb less CO2). It should be abundantly clear to anyone who can read and think that if the U.S., China, and India do not dramatically change their rates of fossil-fool consumption we will reach a tipping point at which most earthly life is doomed. No one pretends to know exactly when that tipping point will be reached, but the projected “best model” has steadily moved it in from the late 2000s to sometime in the next decade.
The likely outcome of catastrophic climate change demands a sense of urgency. The clock is ticking to midnight and the ball is ending. If we play around the edges with such less than half-measures as using slightly more fuel efficient cars to go purchase the latest model of cheap plastic crap from China, then we will be responsible for what may be the final chapter of complex life on earth for quite some time if not forever. We have only a very few years to cut back our fossil-fool use by some 60-80% and it is high time we started doing it. Kicking this problem down the road to the next generation is no longer just immoral; it is now likely impossible.
Every action we take is either sustainable or it is not. An activity is only sustainable if, when replicated by everyone, it neither uses up the resources upon which it depends faster than they can be regenerated, nor creates any toxins faster than they can be remediated. Driving a hybrid or an electric car (half of all electricity in the U.S. is from coal, the most CO2-intensive fuel in use) is not a sustainable activity and therefore people who drive are indeed part of the problem.
Obviously, driving is not the entire story but a person’s transportation choice is the most visible, public display of one’s commitment to hand over a living planet to future generations. Or not.
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Uniter, not divider
[Read the article: We'd hate to see the bad news]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]king george is still keeping his campaign promise of being a uniter. He has united the Iraqis behind the concept that having ca. 1.2 million civilians killed and their entire infrastructure destroyed is not a great way to spread the love. Never one to reach too low, he has also united the entire globe around the concept that fascist america is not exactly a force for good on the planet.
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Drop dead indeed
[Read the article: EPA to California: Drop dead!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The Middle East may be experiencing theocratic genocidal mayhem, but at least the Bush Crime Family knows how to win the WAR ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
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@ paulpsd7
[Read the article: Rudy's past coming back with a vengeance]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Swift-boating is the use of falsehoods and innuendo to create a negative image of a candidate. For the victims of Ghoul’s incompetence to go public is just an attempt to use the truth to give the public a more accurate image of this candidate. Since they are not lying, they are not swift-boating.
Also, sick as he is, Ghoul would have a very real chance to win the general election if he received the nomination. His tough-guy persona coupled with a perception of being pro-choice and not homophobic will play well in swing states. I think the Ds have a much better chance against a true wacko like Huckabee or Romney. Of course, I was also elated when the Rs nominated GHW Bush (the elected Bush) because I thought he was too strange to be elected. I can still taste the crow.
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A community based answer from the past
[Read the article: The fuel on the hill]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We don’t have decades to reduce our CO2 emissions by 60%, we have decade, as in ten years (maybe, depending on China and India’s expansion of emissions) before we run the risk of irreversible positive feedback loops kicking in. Using corn-based ethanol INCREASES CO2 emissions relative to refining crude oil and most biodiesel sources are a wash. What do we do?
What did our grandparents do when faced with the need to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel in order to defeat a twentieth century threat? They rationed gasoline! Surely we are not so lame that we cannot meet this current challenge to life itself with at least the level of commitment that our elders mustered to defeat a mere human foe. If you ever look at pictures of Americans from the 1940s you will see a valuable by-product of energy rationing: the people weren’t FAT.
Let’s use biofuels all right; let’s take advantage of beta-oxidation to convert our human blubber to mechanical energy by forgoing our automobiles and walking (even to bus and train stops; don’t be a wimp, five miles is not too far), and riding bikes. Here’s a little secret for those of you who have never been outside of your fossil-fool based wheelchairs: while drivers are cursing at each other, cyclists and walkers are smiling, waving at, and generally encouraging each other. We have joyous communities where, in a medium-sized city, we recognize each other by sight. Join us before it is too late.