GLOBAL WARMING
Few people in the media or government seem to be able to make the connection between global warming and the skewed weather patterns we've been experiencing. The 10 worst hurricanes in this century have happened in the last 15 years. Florida is about to experience the third very serious storm in less than a month. People are living in a kind of short term panic response mode; like an ants whose nest has just been upset but who have no idea why or how.
We managed to warm up the average temperatures in the Atlantic enough to provide the extra energy (heat) to make these annual storms much more violent than they have been in the past.
One of my co workers just returned from working on radio transmitters all over Alaska. In Barrow, the buildings are sinking because the perma frost is melting. Bethel, on the north west coast of Alaska had temperatures in the 80's. The Inuit are going nuts because the conditions are changing and the animals are disappearing.
Part of the "ethos" that many of us who bought Prii share, is a concern for the environmental impact of our energy use. When people ask me about my car and why I bought it, I try to emphasize the environmental aspect of the car rather than just focusing on the mileage. It's hard to not sound preachy or self-righteous, but I think we can help create a larger awareness of our impact on nature and the very real danger posed by global warming. Global Warming, as one writer commented, is a far greater threat than terrorism.
We are working to convert our house to solar. One of the guys who came over to give us an estimate showed us some neat magazines on the subject of being off the grid. He said that only five years ago, this magazine was more of a newsletter for aging "back to the earth" hippies and is now a slick mainstream publication. Solar panels have increased dramatically in efficiency and the price has continued to decline. In spite of our 19th century robber baron government, people at the grass root level are acting.
My sympathies are with the homeless in Florida; my hope is that these events will be a catalyst for further change and healing.
Bob