Today's been surprisingly cool for July in the NY metro area, but global warming has been all over the news lately. A recent Rolling Stone article is absolutely terrifying in it's implications. Less dire, but not too reassuring is a recent NPR piece on the "weirdness" that climate change is creating. Meanwhile, a horrific drought is threatening U.S. farm yields. A serious talk about the effects of our fossil fuel dependence is long, long overdue. What's this? A front group for the fossil fuels industry compares a climate scientist to a child molester? A major national conservative publication has reiterated the odious comparison? Wow, that's as bad as comparing hardworking scientists to a terrorist.
Shit, it's time to get serious about climate change, but the denialists are too mendacious and well-funded. They even lie about a plan begun as a "market-based solution" now being a communist plot (much like the current "Obamacare" with its mandate started off as a "market based" alternative to single-payer healthcare). I would say that there's a glimmer of hope, seeing that a prominent "skeptic" has had a change of mind, but scientists don't buy politicians, and the goddamn rubes in the states affected by the drought will blame the queers and shower hucksters who tell them to pray for rain with their dwindling disposable income, and NOTHING WILL GET ACCOMPLISHED.
I harp on this subject from time to time, but the confluence of pieces about global warming, and the idiotic attacks from denialists forced my writer's hand today.
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It's frightening. The whole point is greed. Of course. Once again.
They don't want to give up the established profits built into the petroleum economy. Second, the petroleum economy is built entirely on an institutionalized lie - that fossil fuels are cheaper than alternatives. There is some interesting magic in watching the pursuit of "grid parity".
But now, with fracking and it's kin, the price of natural gas has plummeted, and the result is no real short-term economic requirement to reduce carbon emissions. We'll just keep pretending, and nothing will happen to you and I.
And eventually, we'll find we can't feed our population, millions or even billions will die of starvation and disease and thirst, wars will be fought for water and food, nuclear weapons will be the last measure of desperate regimes, and everything humans have built over a hundred thousand years will stand on the edge of collapse.
Yay?
As usual, mikey (Mr. Sunshine) is too optimistic.
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Local political blog The Political Environment recently had a post about the drought in Wisconsin (note that Our Stupid Cross Eyed Gov is applying for Federal Aid. Just not federal aid to expand Medicaid for poor Wisconsinites). The first three comments were all from Nonnie Mouse global warming deniers. One said: "Global warming is a hoax" and then followed up by saying that it may be warming, but it's not due to humans, and besides, it'll be nice to have warmer weather and longer growing seasons. Kind of ignoring that longer warm seasons means less snowmelt, which means less water in the watershed, which means drought.
Just to add to Mikey's optimism...
I read an article recently from someone who knows way more than I about this stuff. The article pointed out that the atmosphere around our planet is huge and therefore very slow to react to all the crazy things we do to it. It went on to say that the effects we are feeling today are the results of what we did about 80 years ago and any changes we make to improve the situation will take about 80 years to improve our situation. So in other words, once things get so bad that even the Republicans decide something needs to be done, it will be 80 years too late.
Well, hell, SL. I feel so much better now. Does this mean I can make S'mores without a campfire?
This time of year in Minysoda, should be able to buy sweet corn a dozen ears for a bit over a dollar. Last night, forty cents an ear. Just keep whistlin'...
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