Fasten
Your Seat Belts
For Global Warming
By Mickey Z.
24 November, 2006
Countercurrents.org
Is O.J. Simpson more important
than the greenhouse effect? Consider this: I just typed "O.J. Simpson"
into a Google News search. The first page alone provided links for almost
2500 recent stories. The results for "global warming," however,
totaled roughly 300. Thus, by media standards, O.J. Simpson appears
to be at least eight times more significant than climate change.
Obviously, media coverage doesn't always correlate to value. Douglas
Futuyma, a professor of ecology and evolution at the State University
of New York in Stony Brook, recently talked to CNN about global warming.
"It's not just down the road somewhere," said Futuyma. "It
is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is
going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time
that they are 50 or 60."
And guess what? It's our fault.
Global temperatures rise, in part, thanks to the emission of greenhouse
gases. In other words, every time we turn on a light, take a shower,
or do the laundry, we add to the greenhouse effect. Go ahead, wash your
dishes or take a drive or check your e-mail. The acts we take for granted
are
impacting the planet. It's our fault that ocean levels are rising and
species are going extinct and human children face "a very different
and frightening world" in the near future. What we call normal
is actually consumption and consumption requires energy.
For example, where do you think that fabulous new belt of yours came
from? It entailed the extracting and processing of raw materials and
a factory which it was assembled. What about the delivery truck that
transported the belt to the store ecosystems made, the roads on which
it traveled innumerous ecosystems is leather, you might have to add
in factory farming, tanneries, and a toxic brew of chemicals.
We shop, the planet suffers, it's our fault.
But what if it's not? What if all those ardent warming deniers are correct?
Well, that's where seat belts come in. While some of us fasten our seat
belts to avoid getting a ticket, many more do so as a safety measure
(what Dubya might call a preemptive strike). We don't wait until we
see another vehicle spinning out of control to snap the seat belt into
place. We fasten it upon entering a car. It can be a little uncomfortable
to wear, but if we arrive at our destination without needing that seat
belt, we typically don't regret using it.
To apply this same mentality to climate change not the human role in
global warming is overstated vision for the future. The only players
with a vested interest in the status quo are those who profit off our
indifference and our conspicuous consumption, so why not alter our lifestyle
as if our very existence were hanging in the balance? To accept this
challenge would be to overcome
corporate propaganda...perhaps the dominant factor in our society.
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
Leave
A Comment
&
Share Your Insights