Global Warnings
Have you paid off your credit cards and cut them in half yet? How do you react to more personal warnings? Do you argue that the experts do not know what they are talking about? Have you worn a condom every time you had sex since the early eighties or do you bet your life that your partner is faithful or that HIV infection only happens to other people? Do you order an organic vegetable salad for lunch like your doctor suggests or are you still eating only cows and potatoes in search of a cardiac?
Are you exercising every other day for thirty minute hard enough that you can hardly chat? Or do you take a short stroll with the pooch and your paunch? Do you look for sympathy because your organs are falling apart after decades of mistreatment? Have you noticed fixing errors later, rather than sooner, is really expensive?
Do you heed expert Dr. Blane Crandall, Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, who informed the United States Senate that menopausal women benefit from prescribed bio-identical hormones because the danger of illness and mortality is reduced? "Women on hormones not only improve their bone health but their whole body benefits... a woman's memory, heart, colon, skin, sexual organs and bladder all benefits from continued use of hormone replacement therapy" (www.drblanecrandall.com). Or do you believe what an article in the newspaper said about horse urine hormones?
Does it make sense to take care of your health today the way experts suggest rather than pay for doctors and surgeries later? Would these same principles hold true for Mama Earth? Voices everywhere are shouting an insistent warning about the whole Planet.
A report from the Pentagon in 2004 urged that global warming be raised beyond a scientific debate to a National security concern, and warned us about rapid climate change, the possibility of global famine and wars over shrinking resources, like clean water. "In the course of the century, water supplies stored in glaciers and snow cover are projected to decline, reducing water availability in regions supplied by meltwater from major mountain ranges, where more than one-sixth of the world population currently lives." (IPCC, 2007). Imagine two billion thirsty and desperate people! This outcry is not the same as a shaming nudge to clean up your own trash and recycle. No, this is a major hand wringing from all areas of science, an urgent consensus from experts around the world that we must act immediately.
As the biggest of polluters, America is receiving strong pressure to change from around the world. Do you listen, really listen, to experts and not to people with political agendas or advertising and media connections? American citizens do take a while to process and form an opinion. We are busy doing many important things like soccer, business meetings and fund raising. Our government moves at a snails pace, and our heartland moves even more slowly. Yet, the buzz about global warming is heating up. Just what is all the noise about? Our atmosphere is holding on to too much CO2, a waste product that comes from our dirty little habits like coal and oil burning. About 75% of the annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is due to the burning of fossil fuels.
The remaining 25% happens when forests are converted to range lands, range lands to agriculture, and agriculture to urban areas, which have the effect of reducing the net uptake of carbon dioxide (http://globalwarming.sdsu.edu/). Temperature is projected to increase by 1.4 to 5.8 °C this century which is a much more rapid rate of warming than during the 20th century. Heat holding CO2 is bad news but the really uncomfortable part is that severe consequences are happening faster than expected. Factual evidence before our eyes like drowning polar bears and penguins may break our hearts, but still not make us change our light bulbs. In its most recent (2007) report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that surface temperatures could rise up to 10.4 degrees F over this century, and sea levels could rise nearly six meters. Since scientists under reported or missed the current effects in previous scientific papers, can we assume the actual facts are much worse than reported.
If we list the annual death causes to humans or species in a chart, terrorism is way at the bottom and global warming is way at the top. That is the strange disconnect. The tunnel vision politicians spend our tax money like a college girl with Daddy's credit card and sweep more important issues under the rug for the next generation to solve. If only the people who voted for bad decisions were the only ones to suffer, but never have so many lives been controlled by so few individuals. When global mistakes are made or problems ignored, we all suffer and so will our grandchildren. Yet, we have been warned. Complacent and egocentric, we will eventually change light bulbs, buy fuel-efficient vehicles and bury coal emissions.
The day will happen when American law says that we must or incur punishment with stiff fines, and probably not one day before then. When the law requires you to replace old refrigerators, furnaces, and boilers with efficient ENERGY STAR models reducing energy consumption by almost two-thirds, then you will. A "carbon tax" (a tax which reflects the real cost of carbon pollution cleanup) will force change because there are expensive penalties to avoid. Governments can reward every citizen who installs solar, wind, along with other smart energy and clean world action by giving substantial tax relief.
City governments can give homeowners who plant a shade tree a hefty tax break. The tasks sound easy enough. Is any of this as bad as standing in line with your shoes off every time you fly? Americans can adapt, we are just so slow and lazy about it. However, a true positive is that nearly every American is a law abiding citizen. We follow the rule of law. Grumble you may, but turn these recommendations of world experts into American law. Then, withhold American dollars to anyone or any country who does not comply. Bingo, cooler Earth! Tell your grandchildren that you accept personal adult responsibility and that you will change your home and office light bulbs this weekend. Tell them you are listening to the experts. Protect your loved ones and others from an unnecessary Katrina or Tsunami, drought, species extinction or war? Proactively ensure that the beachfront property you promised to leave them remains right where it is today-above the shore.
Related Tags: health, law, global, warming, psychology, warning, listen, experts, pollution, grandchildren, govern
Dr. Molly Barrow holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is the author of the new book, "Matchlines: A Revolutionary New Way of Looking at Relationships and Making the Right Choices in Love," ISBN 159507158X. She is an authority on relationship and psychological topics, a member of the American Psychological Association and a licensed mental health counselor. Dr. Molly has appeared as an expert in the film, My Suicide, documentaries Ready to Explode and KTLA Impact, NBC news, PBS In Focus, WBZT talk radio and in O Magazine, Psychology Today, Newsday, The Nest, MSN.com, Yahoo, Match.com, N Magazine, Women's Health and Women's World. Please visit: http://www.askdrmolly.com http://www.DrMollyBarrow.com/ To read articles by Dr. Molly please visit: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Molly_Barrow
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Solar Power - A Sustainable Source Of Energy
Since time began, the sun was seen as a source of energy. Suprisingly only about 10% of solar energy - Why Leopards Are Becoming Extinct
On the flooded marshlands of Mombo in the heart of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, there are fertile f - The Different Kinds Of Bats
Most bats are found in warm places. Some are very strange: there are brightly colored, even spotted, - How Bats Find Their Way In The Dark
People have always been puzzled by how bats see small insects in the dark, and how they avoid bumpin - How Bats Live
Bats live together in caves or other dark places during the day. Just before dark, or before the sun - At Home With Mr. Burroughs
Youth still peered out at me in spite of his crowning thatch of silvery hair when I first met John B - Gas Fired Boiler Care Evaluation
Get Central Heating Cover And UnwindWhilst advanced heating boilers are reliable, at some point in t - Environment Articles - India's strength and investments in Nuclear Energy Markets
Indian Nuclear Energy Markets Indian Nuclear Energy Market: An investment opportunity of US$55 - Environment Articles - Wind Energy is the fastest growing renewable energy sector in India
Wind Energy Markets in India India is likely to generate almost five times more wind energy cap - Environment Articles - Ideas On Reusable Kids Lunch Boxes
If your kids are now in school, lunch boxes are what you need. Packing their lunch assures mothers a
Most viewed articles in this category:
- The Demand for Water and Water Privatisation
On TV recently you have Indian villagers complaining that coca cola had built a bottling plant in th - Solar Powered Lights
All of our energy comes from the sun. Solar powered lights offer a low cost and do not pollute the e - About Ethanol Distillation
Through the years, people have been used to oil price hikes, such that even when prices rise to a se - Simple Mold Removal Wihtout Cleaning Mold
Are you fighting with black mold and it keeps coming back? Use the correct methods for mold cleaning - The Business of Saving the Planet
On a sweltering day during the summer, I called my business partner Michael to ask why he thought it - Global E-Waste Dumping - How Does It Occur?
When people "donate" or "recycle" electronics and computers, they do so with good intentions, and th - Earth Friendly Composting
Earth Friendly Composting Municipalities throughout the United States require residents and busines - A Unique Overview of Yellowstone National Park
When it comes to national parks, it is hard to imagine a more famous one than Yellowstone National P - Save the Planet Article 2
This is the second article in a series that examines common house-hold products, how their manufactu - Air Testing In The Uk Building Trade
Part L Building Regulations 2000, which came into effect on 6th April 2006, is one part of the Gover