We are now used to living from one disaster to another;
whether it’s terrorism, crazy shooters or natural disasters, there is always a
relief effort going on and a lot of rebuilding.
Maybe it’s not much different than it’s been for years but it sure seems
that way. Massive hurricane in NYC? Mile-wide tornado in Oklahoma? Louisiana has still not fully recovered from
Katrina, people in the NYC area are just beginning to return to their homes and
parts of Oklahoma flattened to the ground.
It’s so overwhelming that the right wing has taken to blaming natural
disasters on the POTUS. His powers are
increasing on a daily basis.
It’s natural to try to find a logical cause for
everything. If horrific events are
random, than we can’t prevent them. If
we can’t prevent them, we are helpless.
Americans really hate being helpless.
We blame terrorists, especially Muslims, whenever possible. When a teenager attacks a school and kills a
bunch of innocent children, we try to blame the parents, the education system,
video games and violent movies. Who do
we blame (other than President Obama) when it’s an act of nature?
From a religious perspective, some can blame the sins of
man. Depending on your particular
persuasion, that can be a variety of things:
war, hate, abortion or homosexuality.
Then, of course, the perpetrator is the supreme being of your
choice. Personally, I have issues with a
higher power that is that violent and vengeful.
My choice is to go back to that old margarine
commercial. The one where the margarine
tastes so much like butter that this crazy woman, in front of a background of
thunder and lightning, says “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” Maybe that’s the problem in a nutshell: we
have been “fooling” with Mother Nature for entirely too long. Of course, I am no kind of scientist, but I
do believe that the majority of those who research and write on the topic are
correct in saying the humans have greatly influenced all areas of our
environment, including the weather.
Those who choose not to believe the data state that the rest
are crying “wolf” and exaggerating to further liberal agendas. They worry the most about the possibility of
curtailing the growth of polluting industry.
Logically, it is not in the interest of those that pollute the
environment to change their processes or even express concern about the
environment. Personally, I can’t say
that the recent hurricanes, tornadoes, dramatic temperature variations and even
earthquakes are due to unnatural additions to the world, but as Mr. Spock would
say, it’s logical. If you are in
a heavily industrialized area and smell the air, see the smoke and tons of
trash generate, it is logical the see some connection.
So just maybe, maybe, it is possible to do something about
the weather and not just talk about it
This probably won’t happen during my lifetime, maybe not in yours
either, but it can start at any time.
The auto industry has a mandate to begin to help clear the air by
decreasing the gas consumptions of new vehicles. In other areas, too much has been compromised
in serve of placating corporate America.
All I have is a soapbox, which I am more than willing to share. We can start by opening our eyes.
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