Every once in a while something comes along that changes everything. For example: in the mid seventeenth century, Dutch scientist, Antonin Van Leeuwenhoek, invented the first microscope. He could actually see previously unknown single-celled critters we now call microorganisms. This opened up a whole new tiny universe to science and paved the way to understanding disease. In the mid 19th century, Charles Darwin published his brilliant seminal work, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,” and started a paradigm shift, forever changing the way we view our world. His separation of empirical data from biblical mythology has been referred to as the “big bang” of biology. When Samuel Morse invented the electromagnetic telegraph, information suddenly became faster than the horse (the electoral college is a vestige of horse and buggy technology). In the early 20th century the Wright Brothers kicked off aviation, and society would never be the same. This led to the latter 20th century, where the Apollo missions provided photos of our magical planet suspended in the void of space. These amazing photos emphasized the finite nature of our small world.
Education can change everything. A few decades ago I took a class in geology taught by Dr. Frank Byrne. He gave us a perspective that can only be described as 3 D. Instead of just observing surrounding landscapes here and now, he drew our attention to the hidden stories contained in ancient rocks, about submersion under shallow salt water, of uplifted mountains, volcanoes, erosion, etc. Right where you are now sitting (reading “The Community Word”) just a few thousand years ago, huge hairy mammoths grazed on colorful prairie plants. Look around at this human-dominated ecosystem today and imagine the changes. And picture this place 10 thousand years hence.
Some changes are slightly less profound. My grandmother was one of the first people to have a TV set on which you could actually see color. The NBC peacock would fan its tail and the screen would seemingly come alive, but only for a couple programs. We used to walk to her house when one of these (Disney or Bonanza) was about to come on and it was magical. The “Wizard of Oz” started in black and white, but went color when they entered Oz… unless, of course, you had an ordinary black and white set.
Some change can be ominous. Last year at this time, my brother in Dallas was telling me about his weather and it sounded like a Texas-sized tall tale. They had a Hundred Consecutive Days of triple digit heat. This was considered a “La Nina” event, caused by cool surface water in the eastern Pacific. However, according to something called “Attribution Science,” the severity was attributed to human-caused global warming… a change that is a direct result of the excessive greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Fortunately coal and oil provided the energy for industrial development, or we wouldn’t be here. Unfortunately, in the process, we’ve released an immense mass of sequestered carbon, enough to increase atmospheric carbon from roughly 280 parts per million in 1700 to nearly 400 parts per million today. Global temperatures are rising along with this increase.
Change is inevitable and can be welcome or unwelcome. Once it occurs, you have limited options; you can be an engine or a caboose. Either embrace it and roll with it, or resist change and try to cling to the way things were. This is a critical time to become an engine of change. There are numerous carbon-free energy alternatives that could benefit Earth’s atmosphere. For example: wind-generated power; solar panels that produce electricity; and nuclear power. The problem with nuclear was clearly exposed at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. Current technology is dirty and dangerous. What’s needed is a multi national cooperative “Manhattan Project” to make clean nuclear fusion technologically possible, universally available, and affordable.
The other approach to our climate crisis is denial. The problem is this stifles innovation and you become a feckless victim of change. This is one of the reasons the November election has taken on such importance.
Sierra Club executive director, Michael Brune states: “There is a reason big polluters have given Paul Ryan hundreds of thousands of dollars and why the Koch Brothers are one of his top donors – he’s tried to turn their wildest fantasies into law. From rejecting the reality of climate disruption to attacking good-paying clean energy jobs to trying to gut the EPA’s ability to protect our air, our water, and the health of our families, Ryan operates out of the dirty energy playbook.”
Paul Ryan asserts climate science is a conspiracy, where researchers are working together to “intentionally mislead the public on the issue of climate change.” He thinks snow proves there is no global warming. But unraveling the dynamics of global climate requires a good deal more than just hanging an arm out the window, or looking at your backyard thermometer. He is clearly speaking for the oil and gas industry.
Mitt Romney recently ridiculed the Obama administration for supporting wind and solar energy development. He would stifle American leadership at this very crucial time. This is apparently a Republican principle. The strategy to deal with global warming is simply to deny and ignore, and then attack the messengers.
President Barack Obama has stated: “We can’t have an energy strategy for the last century that traps us in the past. We need an energy strategy for the future – an all-of-the-above strategy for the 21st century that develops every source of American-made energy.”
“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left.” – Thomas Edison
The choice is clear. Let’s be an engine of change and get busy creating the future.