A Problem We Can't Ignore

I've been a skeptic of global warming in the past, but I think the time has come for all of us to admit that its a problem. Nearly all Democratic leaders, most Republican leaders (including John McCain) and even many libertarians (such as Reason Magazine's science correspondent, Ronald Bailey) believe that we have a problem. We've been spuing fumes into the air for hundreds of years and with China and India revving up their engines its getting to the time where we need to do something about it. And it will cost all of us some money. How much? Nobody knows. We've been getting our energy very cheaply for the last 50 years mostly because we never paid to clean up the waste it creates.

Most global warming is due to carbon in the air, carbon dioxide, emitted from your car and other places. Plants can filter a lot of this and turn it into oxygen, but we've reached the point where they are overwhelmed. Rising earth temperatures can cause polar ice caps to melt, sea levels to rise, and can even screw with the weather.

The crazy weather we've been seeing lately is not a product of God but of man.

There are several proposals, including a carbon tax and a cap and trade. McCain and Obama favor the cap and trade. It didn't work out too well in Europe, but Europe had a lot of bureaucracy behind it. A carbon tax may be the way to go, but that's never really been implemented.

There are also other changes that can be made, such as driving less, carpooling more, and buying "greener" products, especially farmers market type produce that is not trucked across the country. I'd also recommend watching An Inconvenient Truth, a pretty good movie.

And whoever you vote for, let them know that this is an issue you care about.

Lastly, you may have seen the commercials with Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton, saying that they don't agree on much but they agree that climate change is an issue. Visit the website behind that ad: http://www.wecansolveit.org/ You might just find some good energy saving tips that will save you money.