Skip to main content

The Truth Will Out

September 12, 2011 - Of all of the things that distress me about Republicans and their deliberate misuse of the English Language and of the truth, it is their lies of omission and their half-truths that upset me the most. After ten years, first of George W. Bush, and now of Eric Cantor and his ilk (aka the Tea Party), hearing the truth spoken by persons of influence is like filling my lungs with fresh, unpolluted air - I'd nearly forgotten how good it feels. That's why I'm looking forward to Wednesday night, October 15. Al Gore's latest contribution to the climate change discussion, called 24 Hours of Reality, will air, beginning at 7:00 pm EST. I will be watching (don't tell my boss), and I hope you will, too.

In order to bring about this landmark event, Gore founded and chairs the Climate Reality Project. The project, no doubt in large part because of its founder's celebrity, is sponsored by a large number of organizations, among them Georgia Climate Change Coalition, Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation, Beautiful Israel, Native Energy, Rock the Vote, and the Natural Resource Defense Council. You can find more information about the project and presentation at www.climaterealityproject.org .

It's not just the problem of climate disruption that will be discussed. Solutions to this planet-altering cataclysm, which is even now unfolding, will also be given their due: "real solutions, systemic solutions, innovative solutions," according to the web site, will all be made known to an audience that could well run to scores of millions of people. The one hour program, 24 Hours of Reality, will be broadcast around the world for one entire day. Each broadcast location's unique environmental challenges will be made a part of the program.

For instance, New York City will be the location of the first hour's broadcast. The subtitle of NYC's page on the web site is "A megacity inching closer to sea level." The Big Apple has, in fact, already dealt with a 15 inch rise in sea level during the last 150 years. Worse still lies ahead: forecasters predict that by mid-21st century, the ocean may have risen as much as another 29 inches. The predicaments faced by such diverse cities as Boulder, Illulissat, Mexico City, Tonga, Islamabad, and Rio de Janeiro - among others - will also be highlighted.

So if double-talk has lost its luster, you should watch. If facts that serve merely as a facade for a hidden agenda no longer appeal to you, you should watch. If hopelessness isn't the answer you seek, you should watch. Listen and learn if you care about our wonderful home. Climate change is only the most serious challenge humankind has ever faced. This program offers us a way to solve our common problem together. There is , actually, no other way to do it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Time to be Scared

November 26, 2018 You've heard by now that the US Global Change Research Program released its Fourth National Climate Assessment last Friday. Scientists are, at last, confident enough to say that climate change is the new reality. How very much I wish they had published this bold assertion many years ago, rather than always being hesitant (" . . . we're 73% sure this could happen . . ."). While I know the politics involved cannot be allowed to sway them, and that scientists are unaccustomed to speaking for the masses, their inability to convince the scientifically uneducated of the value in climate change hypotheses has hurt us all. In any event, they have now spoken up loudly and clearly. According to NOAA, one of the 13 government agencies responsible for the Assessment, we can expect the following, should mitigating actions not be taken immediately: - Human health and safety, quality of life, and economic growth will all suffer.        The 2014 Assessment c...

The Land of the Rising Sea

Sept. 26, 2015 -  Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, pushed a bill through the lower house of   Parliament last week which authorizes expansion of the military in Japan.   Japan was shorn of its military subsequent to World War II and today, the move is not a popular one amongst the Japanese.   They have grown unaccustomed to bearing responsibility for a well-armed military.   It will cost Japan a lot of money, for one thing.   In addition, the island nation is not well known for friendly relations with its neighbors.   The United States, however, supports the move, since it can ill afford to continue in its post-war role as world policeman.   Help from an ally would be very welcome. Japan’s primary motivation is China’s growing military.  The actual building of islands in the South China Sea has disturbed all of China’s neighbors, with good reason.  It would appear their purpose in creating the islands could w...