"Climate Crisis"

"We didn't wait for someone else to storm the beaches of Normandy. We didn't wait for someone else to guarantee civil rights or put a man on the moon. And we can't wait for someone else to solve the global climate crisis. We need to act. And we need to act now."

-- Al Gore's recent Alliance for Climate Protection commercial

I'm really not trying to go on a global warming kick, but... yeah. I like what NPR's Bob Garfield had to say about the ad:

Yes, an unassailable strategy: to remind Americans that our society has pulled together more than once to surmount huge obstacles. But why in the (fragile) world would the advocates, who already face an entrenched political opposition of global warming deniers, be so glib and careless about the facts?

We did wait to invade Europe; we waited five years. We did wait to commence the space program; we waited for the Russians to start first. We did wait to confront racial injustice; we waited 180 years. What is the point of making heroic comparisons if the comparisons don't scan?

And, again please know that I'm no scientist and will never claim to be, is the earth's supposedly human-caused global warming also responsible for the melting of the polar icecaps on Mars? When my Buick emits harmful pollutants into the Price Hill skies, am I hurting other planets in our solar system? I think not...

Global cooling could wipe us out! No... I was misquoted! Global warming could wipe us out! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhrgggggggggghhhhhhhh!

Absolutely, we should burn less fuel. We, as a society, should become less dependent on oil. We should reduce consumption, reuse reusable materials, and recycle what we can. Trees are good. Pollution is bad. But to think that we little humans are big and important enough to cause climate change doesn't add up.

You know, IMO. And, umm, I don't think I'm a complete idiot, but that's up for debate.