Thursday, April 12, 2007

Climate change.

Testimony from scientists in front of a House investigative panel revealed that the Bush Administration has been "cooking the books" that may result in "cooking the planet." The Administration has been altering data and pressuring scientists in regards to global warming, asking some to delete references to climate change in official government reports in order to downplay the impact and the need to move toward serious reductions in atmospheric pollution.

They are now squaring off against the most comprehensive report done to date on climate change, the IPCC report put out by the United Nations (don't forget, our UN reps contributed to the report - chaired by a NASA scientist - one who also testified about pressure to skew data domestically!).

It's shameful, and what is worse is that if the IPCC is correct, it may be the face of things to come. What happens when sea level rise threatens Manhattan, or erases the Florida keys and part of the peninsula, or any of our coastal cities that would be affected by a sea level rise. When hurricanes continue to grow in intensity and frequency, what will happen? When the Great Plains becomes a dust bowl as the aquifers run dry and drought continues, who will respond? How long will the new victims wait? How many will die then?

These are serious questions that we have yet to grapple with. Even if we do something today about warming, it will take decades to stop the damage we have already done. Some argue it is too late, and that thought should scare you. Even if you won't live to see the planet die, you are leaving your children one hell of a present. We're talking about these changes happening in OUR LIFETIMES and definitely in our CHILDRENS' lifetimes.

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