Thursday, October 15, 2009

BLOG ACTION DAY - CLIMATE CHANGE

.
Today is Blog Action Day. Apparently this happens every year on October 15th, when bloggers are encouraged to blog in unison on some important issue which we feel is not getting the creative attention it needs. I have not done this before, but now that I know about it I think it is worth doing. This year it is about CLIMATE CHANGE.



I have no special angle on climate change. Like most people, I suppose, I believe in global warming, because the evidence seems undeniable. My own experience tells me that the weather is changing for the worse - but don't we always think that? I checked in on the Blog Action Day website and had a look at the Top 100 effects of global warming. Alright, most of them are quoted from newspapers and newscasts, and may not yet be fully attested scientifically - but can we afford to disbelieve them? Many of them are long-term effects which I am unlikely to see:



Ice melting, waters rising, sunamis and hurricanes, rivers drying up, more fires.

Loss of trees, plants, animals and fish. An increase in noxious plants and insects.

More diseases spreading, people getting sicker.

Increased threats to national security due to migrations, boundary tensions, and conflict over food and water. More wars, more refugees.



I think of my grandchildren. I think of those two girls and four boys, aged between 8 and 17, to whose flesh and blood I have contributed through my own sons; who bear my DNA, and will inherit, to greater or lesser degree, the physical and mental characteristics that I have passed on to them. They are my legacy to the world that I must leave, they are my immortality. But what sort of world will there be for them to inherit? Will it be a world that is still full of natural wonders, magnificent resources, beautiful habitats for man and beast a like. Will it still be possible to live full and satisfying lives, lives of invention, service, caring, and creativity? Or will the basic struggle for survival take all their energies. There are enough suffering peoples in the world already leading such lives. My family has been fortunate ...... will it continue to be through all the generations that will follow me?
I do my best with reducing, reusing and recycling, but we need strong and willing governments to lead us as well.
.

6 comments:

Amy said...

I am not sure if we have any effect on global warming but I think we still need to be energy efficient and help the environment.

edwin sanchez said...

Once the deep mystery of “climate change” has been solved
And “What’s green and causes CC?” is no longer a popular riddle,
The legacy of the era most likely will be:
“Never in recorded history have so many made so much over so little”.
(With apologies to the late, great Winston Churchill).

Avus said...

I guess it is the new religion. I believe it was G.K.Chesterton who said "When men stop believing in God, they will believe anything".
Yes, it's happening, yes, it has always happened, yes, it always will. It is what Mother Earth has always done and puny man cannot affect it one way or t'other, I feel.

J Cosmo Newbery said...

The denial of global crises (climate, population, resources), defies logic.

But most political decisions do.

Anonymous said...

What R U doing Judith? No post dor a long time.

annie said...

Well, I am not sure how much we are contributing to what might be some big earth changes that have happened periodically in earth's history. But I think it is still a good thing to protect and treasure what we can of the environment and its people.
And good to hear from you Judith.
annie