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Global Warming

It was not so long ago that we had an enormous amount of momentum to make real progress fighting climate change.  But the Republican party & conservative movement have mobilized all their resources against us, and for the moment, we are loosing.  It is David vs Goliath, and we are David…

Watch Climate of Doubt on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

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Realpolitik is just one of those facts of life that you learn to accept as you get older…well, maybe not accept, acknowledge I suppose is a better word.  If I accept that the struggle against climate change may be futile, perhaps it would be better to just let it go.  Most of the effects will likely happen after I am gone.  Mass species extinction, rising sea levels, dramatically altered weather patterns leading to drought and starvation – it is probable that all of this really won’t impact me at all.  If the statisticians are right, I will die at around 80 or 90, baring some heart attack or accident just around the corner.  So whatever happens after 2055 or so is out of my corporeal time line.

But what about my friends who are younger?  Those 20 somethings, those teens who are, really, oddly, so remarkable.  Most of them will see 2080, when the ocean should be up to about 46th Ave.

And Gabriella, and Amanda?  What will they see, when 2090 comes?  What will my grandchildren, not yet born see because I accepted something I should not have?

I think I choose rather to acknowledge that some things are horse shit, as my hero of the day Michael Reynolds says in his movie Garbage Warrior.  And even if that is the way things are, I can shout into the wind.

So the NY Times depressed the shit out of me on Sunday when it ran a minor headline “Leaders Will Delay Deal on Climate Change” effectively cutting the balls off the Copenhagen talks in 19 days.  And I was mad.  Pissed.  I felt that President Obama had abandoned me, personally.  What good was throwing Bush out on his ass and putting in a new congress if we abandon a binding agreement.

Then today new’s analysis “Obama hobbled in fight against global warming” brought realpolitik’s cold water to my face.  Even though we have 58 Senators in congress, without 60 to force a quorum and override a filibuster, only jack and a little shit will happen.  And only the Senate can ratify a treaty, which is one of the reasons the Kyoto Protocols went right into the trash after Clinton brought them to the Republican Congress.  Even with Barbara Boxer and other advocates on our side, the energy just isn’t there.  We have jobs hemorrhaging from our economy after 28 years of disastrous Reaganomics.  2 wars, where our soldiers have been badly abused by chicken hawks eager to send other people’s kids off to fight,but scared shitless of going all in with a draft and a war tax.  Health Care – where 18,000 people die each year because our health care system serves only corporations, not people.

And I want the Senate to give a fuck about Copenhagen?

So I acknowledge Copenhagen is not going to produce the change we must have.  Global CO2 went up by 2 more parts per million from last year.  The current number is 384 ppm – and the line by which dramatic climate change is acknowledge to be inevitable is 350 parts per million.  I acknowledge this is a body blow to our future as a species.

But I think I will chose not to accept it.  So whether it is the car I drive, or the house I live in, or the food my family eats, we can do something, anything, every single day.  I will acknowledge that the steps are small, and taken alone probably as insignificant as my ranting here.  But the accepting it part can kiss my brown/white ass.

19 days to Copenhagen.  Tomorrow I am going to call my Senators and the White house.

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A primer on Global Warming

by schmidt on November 12, 2009 · 0 comments

in Miscellaneous Schmidt

Sometimes I get so deep into the details of climate change, I forget that not everyone is with me.  As we approach Copenhagen, 24 days and counting, there is a basic review of the problem, what causes it, and what it means for us.  This is really basic stuff, but also basically correct.  Copenhagen is our next best chance to do something about the coming storm, don’t let what happen to the Kyoto Protocols happen with Copenhagen, don’t let them convince you to wallow in apathy and denial.

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Politics has as much to do with sustainable building and living as good insulation and non toxic materials.  Maybe your not a politico like I am, but you should be.  Without political power, we have no chance of realizing global sustainability.  I only remodeled one little house in San Francisco, and the boards over at the Chronicle lit up like a Christmas tree with folks criticizing my motives, calling me a dirty developer and profiteer, so on and so forth.

But its all good – if I am not being criticized I figure I am not actually doing anything.  For every 5 people who like the solar array I installed I run across one grump who tells me its a lousy idea because San Francisco is foggy (1,500 watts today baby!!!).  So imagine someone who has a much higher profile and the abuse they get.  Here is a short clip form on of Al Gore’s recent house committee appearances where he has to defend himself against charges of being a greedy SOB.  Since the science behind his arguments in an Inconvenient Truth have never to my satisfaction been refuted (and feel free to show me any hard data here) character assassination is the only tool left for tools like Rep Blackburn.

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Helmut the Hack

by schmidt on April 1, 2009 · 0 comments

in Miscellaneous Schmidt

I doubt it would surprise you to know that I am something of a wannabe political hack. One of my many daily guilty pleasures is my RSS feed from TPM – a really great blogsite for American Politics.  Today’s feed had links us to a who’s who in the Anti Global Warming Camp. Worth a click, just to remind you who is on the other side. We should do a poll for biggest ass clown of the lot.

H

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