The trouble with the environment

Global Warming! The very words spark fear in our hearts. Al Gore has kindly provided us with an ultimatum: live eco-friendly or die. Even though there are some issues with his message (even some scientists have problems with some aspects of his research and presentation), the issue remains: something is going on, and we need to do something about it.

Humans are messing with the environment. Carbon dioxide emissions are continually increasing, all kinds of other crap (CFCs and the like) are also being put into the atmosphere, and the climate is changing. Is there a connection? Personally, I think there is. Critics of the idea of human-caused global warming point to evidence that the earth goes through phases where the climate heats or cools independent of human influence. And yet science has proven the effect of greenhouse gases and has shown what CFCs do to the ozone layer, and what this does to the environment. If humans have increased production of materials that cause global warming, I think it's pretty clear that global warming can be attributed to humans.

And yet the government of the United States does nothing. We didn't ratify the Kyoto Protocol (which has its own issues), and we have so far done little to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. An industry-friendly government has relaxed regulations and essentially allowed industries to produce greenhouse gases unhindered. White House official and former oil lobbyist Phillip Cooney edited government reports to make unclear the contributions humans have made to global warming. With a government this reliable...well, it makes the idea of drilling for oil in the Arctic somewhat less attractive than it was already, making the proposition ugly as sin.

This is a separate issue, our dependence on foreign oil, but it ties in to the big picture of environmental destruction. Unlike Europe, the United States has failed to recognize the benefits of small cars, mass transport and other eco-friendly measures. We instead burn fossil fuels by the billions of dollars and send our manufacturing jobs overseas to China, which is conveniently exempt from environmental standards such as those set by the Kyoto Protocol. Such a good situation we've gotten ourselves into...and it's getting better.

The recent goals set by the president in his State of the Union address? Likely unreachable. Still, it shows he tried, right? Well, not quite. Sadly, I have little faith in a Republican agenda that is pro-environment. I await a change in regime next year, and pray for a government that is pro-environment.