Even though there is a consenus around the fact that global warming is, in fact, happening, there are still a lot of people that think it is all a load of bunk. As far back as 2003, the World Meteorological Organization “highlighted record extremes in weather and climate occurring all over the world in recent weeks and linked them to climate change”. However, “The earth has warmed before” and “It’s a natural cycle” are two common things I hear from people who think that everything is going to be just fine. OK, I will play along - let’s imagine for a split second that everything is going to be just dandy, that seas are not going to rise, that animals the world over are not going extinct, and that tornadoes are not happening in the strangest places - now what? Because global warming is not* happening, should we continue to treat our planet the way we have been treating it? If we are not in danger of warming the planet beyond repair, should be just keep with the status quo? If it doesn’t matter what we do, should we even care about the health of the earth and our environment? Absolutely. And here is why:

No one wants their grandchildren to live on a planet where the water is so polluted there is nothing to drink.

No one wants their grandchildren to live on a planet where there is an island of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean that is even bigger than the United States.

No matter what your political leanings, no matter if you believe in global warming or not, no matter if you are 15 years old or 95 years old - what we are doing to the earth is affecting not only us, but every single generation to follow…and why would we want to leave this place worse off than when we got here? I am 35 going on 36 years old next week - I know I have some time left here, so I don’t want to live in a dirty, polluted, dangerous world. But even more so than that, I plan on having children - and I surely do not want to leave them with a planet in a constant state of fighting back against what the last 100 years of human development has caused.

So no matter what you believe, believe in this - we need to help make the earth a cleaner place for ourselves and future generations. Can’t we at least agree on that and work on solutions that benefit all of us alike?

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Thanks to my friend Emily who sent along this video thinking I would find it funny…and I sure did.

Someone please give that kid his own show before the November election! Oh, and SNL - please somehow get Will Ferrell back!

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Congratulations to Stephanie from Poorer Than You for winning A Global Warning, and to Audra for winning How The Earth Was Made. You will be receiving an email from me regarding this, so please reply with your mailing address so I can get these DVD’s out to you. And thanks to The History Channel for letting me give these away!

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Last night I was watching the season premiere of The Green on the Sundance Channel and after it was over I was thinking about one of the stories that was in the episode. The entire episode was about the future of power and covered things like wind power, solar power and poop power. OK, not exactly poop power, but power from the methane gas from the manure from cows - it was pretty amazing really. However, that wasn’t the part that got me thinking…rather it was the wind turbine story.

That segment was about a guy and his family in Pennsylvania who mortgaged their house, maxed out credit cards, used up their retirement money and borrowed from friends - all to install a series of wind turbines on top of a ridge on his property. This was not for power just for him, but rather for many in his community. He felt it was something that he “had” to do because of the danger that our planet is facing from global warming. And while I am all for taking the bull by the horns, that is a HUGE investment of one’s own capital (not business money, personal money and loans) to put something in place that our government and/or private ventures should be doing more of. I am not saying it is a bad thing at all…I find it quite inspiring and amazing that someone would take that much of a personal risk to put in the turbines - he should be applauded. But I do find it upsetting that this is what is going to have to happen in order for us to go “off-grid” and get off of fossil fuels. Getting one’s self off-grid is one thing…but doing it as an experiment to try to sell power to your neighbors is another thing altogether. What if it had not worked?

At one point in the story, the narrator mentioned that Denmark gets 20% of it’s power from wind while the U.S. gets only 1%. ONE percent. We are a world leader in technology - but yet we won’t invest in wind and solar power for the benefit of everyone. However, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why - the oil, gas, and coal lobby runs strong and runs deep through our government. Just today it was announced on the news that the oil companies are asking for BIGGER tax breaks for “exploration”…even after the five biggest oil companies made $123.3 billion in profit last year. They want tax breaks to explore more places to dig for oil, not to get involved in alternative energies.

When will the investment in alternative energies move beyond a guy spending every penny he has and then borrowing even more into a solid, huge investment from the government or a multinational global giant? While I sincerely give this guy credit for bringing his dream to reality, it shouldn’t take this type of story to encourage companies to spend the money to start doing this on a giant scale. I know there are a few companies putting in solar power plants and wind farms, but we need more and we need it as soon as possible. Al Gore is spending $300 million dollars on ads and posters about global warming…I am thinking that the $300 million could have been put to much better use by installing wind farms across the country or putting solar panels on thousands and thousands of homes. I can appreciate a good ad campaign, but I think the time has come for action with these kinds of dollars coming available, not just words and feel good video clips.

If a few more $300 million chunks of money were thrown at alternative energy, guys like the one in Pennsylvania would not have to mortgage his house just to install wind turbines on his property.

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Let’s face it…there are a lot of people on this earth and there are not enough natural resources available for every person to have an equal lifestyle. If everyone around the globe lived like an average American, we would require multiple earths to sustain them all. But why should people in countries like Africa and India have any “less” than Americans do? Aren’t they entitled to lead a comfortable life like the rest of us? They are…and therein lies the problem - we all cannot live like that; it’s impossible.

When India introduced that very cheap $2,500 Tata Car, the rest of the world was incensed that all Indians were going to own cars now and what it would do in terms of pollution and global warming. They were furious about it! Of course, they were mad as they got in their own big cars and drove to Wal-mart, but still…they were mad because the Indians were going to make global warming worse. But shouldn’t they have cars that work and are safe like we do? Of course! If we can have them, so can everyone else. But a lot of people don’t think that way - they want their lifestyle preserved and other’s lifestyles hindered in order to keep their own and it’s just not fair.

So what do we do about it? Do we not allow certain countries and peoples to have access to automobiles? That is certainly not right. Do we not allow countries and peoples access to electricity and cellphones and water? That is not right. So what can we do?

A reader of The Good Human emailed me a while back asking about population control as a means to curbing global warming. I have given it a lot of thought and have come up with a few opinions on the matter, some of which you may agree with and some of which you may not; either way, it’s just my opinion. I do not think we can institute population control throughout the entire world - it’s just not feasible and it’s not a rational way of handling the issue. Believe me, if our government tried to do something like this, they would only target third world countries while avoiding the issue here at home. And no matter that the people in those countries barely have running water, electricity or food, they are still people who should not be told what to do by some foreign nation. No one on earth should have the right to tell another someone if they can or cannot have children. Sure, our population growth has been HUGE in the last couple of decades…but who is to tell who that they have to limit the number of children they can have? It’s a natural human right to be able to have children, and not only would it never be accepted by the general population, but it would also have serious consequences down the line. Any time you try to control the natural order of things you cause problems.

That being said, something has to be done about how we are all affecting the earth. But it is going to take a worldwide movement of people all agreeing on one thing - we are in for some crappy times, and this is what we are going to do about it. Countries like Iceland and Finland and Norway are working hard at reducing their dependence on any kind of fossil fuels while investing heavily in solar, wind and geothermal energy. What are we doing here in the United States? Trying to turn corn into gasoline (so we can keep our gas guzzlers in a time of no oil) and digging for oil in tar sands in Canada - which takes more energy to dig up than we get back in return. It’s quite silly. The Europeans are investing huge dollar amounts in high speed train service across all their countries. What are we doing here? Cutting funding for Amtrak and other public transportation programs.

I don’t think we need population control as a means to slow global warming for two main reasons - One, I think it is too late to try to do it even if we could and two, it’s not anyone’s right other than my own to decide how many children I have. But there are things that the entire world can work on together, by spending money on REAL alternative energies that emit no pollution (solar, wind) instead of spending $12 billion a month on a war in Iraq. We always have money for war, right? Well, fighting global warming is the ultimate war and the entire world could be at stake instead of a single country. Let’s start working towards a common goal with the entire world working together. Let’s join the rest of the world in signing the Kyoto Treaty. (Yes, we are the only major country not to sign this important legislation) Let’s actually spend money on things that benefit everyone and not just a select few.

I know it all sounds hokey…but really, what have we got to lose by trying? Nothing. What do we have to lose by not trying? Oh, just possibly the earth. No biggie, right? And if we are wrong and there is no problem at all with global warming? Well, at least we cleaned up the water, we have better public transportation, we have less landfills filled with toxic sludge, we have cars that emit less pollution, we have healthier citizens…it really is a win-win either way.

photo by katmere

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The following is a guest post from Jonathan of Green Mormon Architect. If you like what you see here, please consider subscribing to his RSS feed.

The main environmental motivator these days seems to be one of fear. The press is jumping on every alarming article relating to the environment. Additionally, authors like James Kunstler, promote fear and despair through his best-selling books. In my opinion this is turning many against the environment and sustainable living. This leads me to think about what motivates us in our lives.

As a Mormon missionary, my two years were spent under two very distinct mission presidents. The first had a military background and would pound his fist on the table during zone conferences, raising his voice to inspire us to greater diligence. The second was soft spoken, telling us often of his love for us and expressing appreciation for what we were doing. Both were effective. Some responded better to one over the other depending on their personality.

Fear, as a motivator, doesn’t work in many cases. This study shows how positive messages, rather than threats, are more likely to help smokers overcome their habit. Other powerful motivators include duty, love, and selfishness; a soldier on the front line, a father caring for a sick child, a worker doing well in order to receive a promotion. I think that each of these has a place even though we may view certain motives as loftier than others.

How does this relate to the environment? I have summarized my list of Environmental Motivators below:

Global Warming – based on fear (we are destroying the earth)
Personal Gain – based on selfishness (we can benefit from the earth)
Stewardship – based on duty (we are responsible for the earth)
Sacred Creation – based on love (we are connected to the earth)

Global warming and eco-trendy products seem to get all the coverage. Stewardship and the sacredness of creation rarely make headlines, but they still exist. In the end, isn’t the most newsworthy report that when millions of people resolve to “rise a little higher, be a little better” (Gordon B Hinckley) all forms of life on the earth will benefit?

An example from my own life: I have used public transit to commute to and from work for many years because the purchase, gas, and maintenance of another vehicle was expensive. My motive was purely based on saving money, but it helped the environment regardless of my intent. There are many ways an environmental benefit can be gained, even if we may be driven by very different, and sometimes opposing, agendas.

What motivates you? Have you changed any part of your life or habits relating to the environment? If so, what motivated you to make the change? If not, what is holding you back?

Thanks Jonathan for your guest post! Are you interested in writing a post for The Good Human? Email me!

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