Global Warming and Politics

[Asha]

I was :eek: when one of my very own relatives said that she doesn't believe that global warming exists, and it is all a ploy of the Democrats to try to discredit Pres. Bush.

Why is the issue of global warming divided on party lines? Isn't this something we should all be concerned about?

[pocket]

LOL - that would make me :eek: too!

The climate doesn't care at all who wins the next election. If we don't start bringing a sense of urgency to this problem we are totally F'ed. When people start talking about oil and how there isn't enough left and we are going to run out in 50 yrs they are really missing the point. Regardless of what happens in 50 yrs there is enough oil to make the climate crisis irresolvable. We are taking CO2 that has been trapped underground, burning it and expelling it into the atmosphere. I don't know how we stop, but we have to figure it out.

[PG-rated]

Personally, I blame the Bushies (or should I say Karl Rove) for politicizing science along with every other issue that's remotely related to public policy, to the point that people won't believe hard scientific evidence if it doesn't jibe with their policy goals.

[artist]

Yeah, the neo-cons refer to people like us as "environmentalist whackos", a term I believe may have been coined by Rush Limpdick.

[BumbleB]

Isn't this something we should all be concerned about?

Global warming is something that cannot be denied any longer. We are at that breaking point, where if something is not done about it - it may be too late. The attitude that this is a political thing appals me.

IT is GLOBAL warming people. It affects all of us, worldwide and with the growth and modernization of countries like India and China with over a Billion people each adding to the problem, it is a very real thing!

It saddens me that this is such a political thing. Honestly it needs to be a personal thing. We all need to take as much action as we can. For me, pictures of melting ice caps and glaciers are more than enough proof - even if the earth was going through a warming stage on its own - it would not be happening at the rate it is.

As a country we need to step it up and take some action in this fight, if that means private funds and movies like Al Gores to start spreading the word - so be it. I'm not intending to wait around for the government to tell me it is ok to start thinking about the destructive force of global warming.

I'll get off my soapbox now, but I wanted to say that I LOVE all the Threads popping up on CC on this topic. Lets keep them going - the more people keeping this issue in the open, the better!!!

[SiValleySteph]

I can't think about it too much. I read that people are keeping their AC at 67. No one is really willing to sacrifice. I'm totally on board, and yet, I still want to take multiple plane trips each year. It's not easy to cut back and I don't think most people are going to voluntarily.

Things are changing, though, just slowly...

[MLA]

It saddens me that this is such a political thing.
<snip>
I'm not intending to wait around for the government to tell me it is ok to start thinking about the destructive force of global warming.



I hate that it's become political, too, but it is political now. We need more than just our individual actions. Sure, I try not to waste energy, I recycle, I do all (well most) of the right things, but by myself, it doesn't mean much. We need to be taking political action to get our policy makers to understand that this is a real and a serious issue. If we don't legislate these sorts of things, if we don't have leaders making policy decisions that make sense, our individual actions won't add up to much.

[BumbleB]

MLA - You are 100% right, of course.

"We need to be taking political action to get our policy makers to understand that this is a real and a serious issue."

Legislation is a huge key in this fight. What I was trying to say out of all that was that I'm saddened that there is such a divide in the political arena on this topic. With this threat, more than any other I can think of, we need to be united. As a country and a global community, though now that I re-read my post it certainly didn't come across that way - opps. :rolleyes:

But I DO think that individuals can make a difference, I think the people of this country can influence their political leaders to start getting things done. At the same time, I don't feel that it will hlep anything if we all sit and wait until the day that legislation is in place. It is up to individuals to live more responsibly and I think it will take more than politics to accomplish that. I'm still trying to be optimistic that a huge task like that can be accomplished.

[MLA]

MLA - You are 100% right, of course.

"We need to be taking political action to get our policy makers to understand that this is a real and a serious issue."

Legislation is a huge key in this fight. What I was trying to say out of all that was that I'm saddened that there is such a divide in the political arena on this topic. With this threat, more than any other I can think of, we need to be united. As a country and a global community, though now that I re-read my post it certainly didn't come across that way - opps. :rolleyes:

But I DO think that individuals can make a difference, I think the people of this country can influence their political leaders to start getting things done. At the same time, I don't feel that it will hlep anything if we all sit and wait until the day that legislation is in place. It is up to individuals to live more responsibly and I think it will take more than politics to accomplish that. I'm still trying to be optimistic that a huge task like that can be accomplished.


Yes. We're definitely in agreement. I think I understood your argument originally; I just wanted to point out that we have to act politically as well as individually.

[BumbleB]

Thanks MLA.

Asha - That is exactly the problem. Global Warming certainly wasn't "invented" to discredit the President. Extremisits on both sides are doing a lot of damage in this country right now, with this issue and many others.

While it is important to support your own beliefs it is far more important to educate yourself. Without knowledge you don't have a foot to stand on. We can hope that as more people are educated and realize what the future could hold if we don't change - actions will be taken to reconcile that political divide - but of course only time will tell and unfortunately with this issue we may not have much time.