of the science is excellent, and easy for all to understand. The CO2 levels and heat of the earth fluctuate up and down, at regular intervals, on a chart that is, say, ten feet long, going back 600,000 years, and ten feet high. The fluctuations over 600,000 years occur along the 2 foot mark. Then, at the way end of the chart--our era of industrialization-- CO2 and heat abruptly zoom up eight feet and then off the chart. It is staggering what we've done.
But it's also amazing what we CAN do, with an educated public and just half way decent leadership. Not even great leadership. I remember the water crisis in California, some decades ago, when we were all asked to cut down on water use. Within weeks, lawns started being converted to native vegetation, swimming pools were drained, and a thousand new widgets hit the market to save water. Crisis averted. All our leaders have to do is ASK, and Americans will cooperate. We love to solve problems. We have a can-do attitude. It is characteristic of us.
Sadly, our Oil King is preoccupied with killing more people in Iraq so Chevron, Exxon-Mobile & brethren can get their oil contracts signed before their puppet government gets fragged.
See:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3073715&mesg_id=3073715And the war profiteering corporate news monopolies are doing their best to disinform, propagandize and "Iron Curtain" the American people, about what everybody else in the world already knows: the world's weather is going wacko, and the reason is fossil fuel burning, combined with deforestation.
But word IS getting out, wonder of wonders--thanks to Gore and others--and it's kind of like electronic voting. We are reduced almost to word of mouth--and our new "Committees of Correspondence" (the Internet)--on any serious matter having to do with Corporate Rule.
As for the Corporate Rulers and global warming, first we have to restore transparent elections. Really. We're not going to have half way decent leadership--or great leadership--until we can hold politicians to account once again. So that's step one. With transparent elections, and thus, great leadership, we can convert to non-polluting alternative energy in five years. We can do it. People are already working on solutions, with virtually no leadership and little funding. Five years--and no more wars for oil, and no more pollution. If the US cuts back our whopping 25%, we're on our way to solving it. (China is the other big problem--but again, with great leadership, we can tackle that one, too.) With semi-transparent elections--what the new Democratic Congress seems to be offering--we can make progress and elect some good leaders,
I really think it's a one to one relationship. Transparent elections = you face serious problems with a creative, can-do attitude, and solve them. Non-transparent elections = you make everything worse, drain the country's treasury, demoralize everybody and kill many, in order to profit from the last oil.
Transparent elections result in the best rising--talented, intelligent, altruistic people rise to the top. Non-transparent elections result in stupid, greedy psychotics grabbing power.
So that's my solution, or the essential first step. Democracy. Real elections. And Gore says not one word about it. I guess it's not that obvious to some folks. (You'd think a politician, though, would know who is counting all the votes with secret programming.) And he barely mentions--just touches lightly upon--the real culprits, the oil profiteers. Well, the man doesn't want to get assassinated. And I hardly blame him. The war profiteers and oil profiteers are the dirtbag, murderingest SOBs of all time. They wouldn't hesitate. We do need to remember this, when we criticize good people in public life. They have pressures that we know not of.
Of course what needs to happen is pulling the corporate charters of these oil monsters and other global corporate monopolies, dismantling them and seizing their assets for the public good. Then we get down to business, and design a livable world.
It IS possible, but we have to regain control of our election system.
And WHILE we're working on restoring democracy in the U.S., there are lots of things we can do personally, and in our neighborhoods and communities, to positively affect global warming. I think Gore mentions turning your heat thermostat down just two degrees. And turn off lights and machines. But also, do some research on energy saving machines, on your own house, apartment building or office building and what you can do there, and join, support or organize local green projects. If you can give up meat and/or dairy, that's a big plus. (Cows are the other big polluter.) SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS' MARKETS--locally grown, organic food. Very important. The amount of oil is takes to haul imported food around is huge. Gore has a test at his web site, where you can add up your energy use and see how you rate next to the average. The idea is if you're contributing a lot of greenhouses gases with one activity, compensate with another. Some states are way ahead of others, and of the Bush Junta of course, on new green energy planning. Find a good project and good people and support them.
One caveat: Yes, the goddamned Corporate Rulers are the biggest problem. But don't get sucked into feeling helpless and powerless. There is a tremendous amount that you can do, in our own life and locally, and in educating people, in supporting good projects, and, last but not least, in helping to restore transparent vote counting and other democracy measures. (For instance, if four million black voters weren't purged from the voting rolls or otherwise prevented from voting, we would have far better leadership than we do!)
The bigger picture; Government can't do it all--and obviously we must think as democrats with a small d, and develop grass roots strength, and not count on elected leaders. However, there is a reason that the Corporate Rulers are assaulting and destroying and undermining national governments worldwide--and have taken over our own. They want that legislative and executive power. They hold it artificially--through stolen elections, coups and lavish lobbying--but it is nevertheless lethal to us and to our planet to have these false powers usurping our rightful place as the sovereigns of this land. And you will find that, in fighting off the Corporate Rulers, other countries--such as most of the South American countries--are emphasizing "the nation" (also regional self-determination and cooperation). But national self-sufficiency, national pride, local culture, the rights of the people who live in a certain place, and the powers of a democratic government to act in the interests of the people who live there. The Corporate Rulers hate these South American countries for this very reason--they are taking their countries back. In some ways, I favor decentralization, but we really do need the power of a sovereign federal government acting in our interests, that can "carry a big stick" when it comes to these corporate entities. It's not a "big government" issue; it's a sovereignty issue. Who has the legal right and the power to bust monopolies and regulate big corporations? This is why they have taken over our government, and this is why we must get our government back. We need that regulatory and statutory power in order to solve global warming quickly.
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