Climate change is
happening now and much faster than anticipated.
(Sir Robert Watson, former
chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
The Arctic is a principal,
global driver of the climate system and is undergoing an
unprecedented rate of change with consequences far beyond its
boundaries.
(David Grimes, President
of World Meteorological Organization)
So the American voter wants
change?
Possibly one of the world's
largest ice avalanches, which contained some 100 million cubic meters
of ice and rock, occurred in western Tibet this past July.
Glaciologists are not yet certain why an entire “glacier tongue”
would collapse so quickly and violently. The glaciers of Central and
South Asia, including Tibet, have the largest reserves of glacier ice
outside of Antarctica, Greenland and Canada.
As mentioned previously, an
international climate goal is to keep temperature rise under 2
degrees Celsius. The current reality is, however, that the Arctic,
which makes up 4 percent of the earth's surface has already risen
some 4 degrees Celsius. Climate scientists believe
that if we don't take far more serious measures, temperatures will
certainly rise to 1.5 degrees C by 2030 and quite conceivably 2
degrees C by 2050.
Yes, stuff could happen—in
our lifetime. Permafrost could melt in the tundra (where it used to
be cold all the time) releasing more carbon dioxide—and
methane—making what we call feedback loops an unpleasant reality.
Ocean currents could change and weather patterns might begin to vary
a lot, with extreme weather events becoming the new reality.
This time you might want to
stop living in flood plains and do not expect the government to bail
you out citizen. Massive die offs of plant and animal life could
occur, along with water wars, forced migration of millions of people across the globe,
famines and no more exotic vacations for the privileged and the
wealthy … get the idea?
My fellow Americans,
ignorance is not bliss, right here in “River City”
Watching the recent
presidential debate, I was surprised by the amount of revulsion I
felt toward Donald Trump, in my opinion the most unqualified
presidential candidate in modern history, but I do not consider him
merely an ignorant, narcissistic carnival barker. History offers far
too many examples of seeming buffoons and charlatans seducing the
citizenry, taking power and then wreaking havoc.
We are being told by
assorted pundits that the demographic group designated “millennials,”
some 75 million souls, ages 18 to 34 dislike or are uneasy about
voting for Hillary Clinton and she could lose the election if she
does not get their support.
If you are a 34 year old
millennial right now, in 2050 you will be 68 years old and some of
you will presumably have children and grandchildren. If you are 25
years old you will be only 59 in 2050. Donald, Hillary and a great
many of us will be long gone 34 years from now.
You forget the Greens and
the Libertarians
I'm doing my best to
definitely forget about Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, the nominees for
the Green Party and the Libertarian Party. It is a wasted protest
vote. Jill Stein appears to live in a world of illusion and seems to
have little understanding of political reality, how the political
system actually works and how people actually make decisions.
Then there is Gary Johnson,
a seemingly nice guy who needs to brush up on world events before
running for the presidency of the United States. But perhaps even
more important in a diverse, continental sized country with more than
300 million people, libertarian, free market claptrap is the last
thing we need in a world with climate change, demographic increases,
global trade, nuclear weapons and a host of grown up issues requiring
collective action.
Wishing is hardly enough
My personal wish list
includes such things as universal health care, the repeal of
Citizen's United, national gun legislation that reflects a 21st
century world, criminal justice reform, reducing livestock farming (a global warming
disaster), free college education, a genuine progressive income tax,
intelligent cuts in the bloated defense budget, increasing funding
for our national parks (one of the greatest public policy successes
in our history), a large scale infrastructure program and above all,
an actual commitment to fighting climate change.
I'm going to vote for
Hillary Clinton without reservation, not because she ignites my
passion or guarantees my wish list, but because she is capable of the
“change” so many Americans claim that they want. Of course the
change comes when we who profess the need for that change actually
organize, educate and vote at all levels all the time over the long
term.
Finally, there is the
definition of what “change” means. I have a pretty good idea of
what Donald Trump's most passionate supporters mean by change.
