Global Warming Worries and Perseverances

Have you ever thought about the following?

Today's kindergartener will be 19 in the year 2020, 29 in the year 2030, 39 in the year 2040, and 49 in the year 2050.

This year's typically graduating college student (using 23 years old as the age) will be 36 in 2020, 46 in 2030, 56 in 2040, 66 in 2050.

For me? I'll be 67 in 2020, 77 in 2030, 87 in 2040....God willing.

So...whose life is in peril from the outcomes/projections of global warming models? The children, youth, and young adults of today. Its a problem that has potential to rest the survival of our species on their and their children's shoulders.

On this past Sunday....April 1, 2007....after reading the preliminary news story about the soon to be released UN assessment report on global warming 2007 updates....I was driving to a nearby city on the local interstate. Watching southbound traffic, I noted that 1 of 3 vehicles heading south was a car. The other 3? SUV's or giant pickup trucks. This is in a region where neither of these vehicles is an essential transportation item for probably 99% of the urban/suburban population. My heart sank as I started thinking..."hmmmm, wonder if anyone has done a calculation on the carbon emissions versus years of life for our children. Like...if I drive my SUV everyday in everyway everywhere...how many years do I decrease the survival of my children? grandchildren? etc. The same, of course, applies to ALL of our USA energy hogging behaviors, our consumption of energy hogging foods and necessities, and so forth.

Reading the preliminary news story....I started wondering if our children and young adults of today have the skills and physical abilities to live on a planet in chaotic climatic change, to live as refugees when environmental events (hurricanes, tornados, flooding, drought,....etc) uproot entire populations of cities, regions, countries? What does it exactly mean to us in preparing people for the future? What is it we need to know to live?

How do we turn around our USA society to creating local village/town communities where the goods, foods, and services we need are within walking distances? How do we gladly embrace alternate energy sources - wind, solar? How do we put away SUV's, Large Pickups, Oil dependency? How do we build mass transit in places without it? How do we ....(you finish the question)?

I thought of one creative use of SUV's. Since homeless folks tend to live in shelters made of cardboard and other scavenged materials, how about making SUV homeless living shelters. Remove the tires, set the vehicles in a circle, place a warming fire in the center (just like old wagon train groupings), and voila....a better homeless community. Add a few batteries and the homeless have lights, music/radio, maybe even TV with the new fangled equipped vehicles. I wonder if this could be a tax write-off?

My plea is that we all take a look at our lives, consumptions, vehicles. If you are relying on an SUV or pickup truck for your regular transportation, and especially if it is JUST YOU riding in that vehicle - STOP IT! Park it! Start with yourself. I know that the $3 a gallon gas not that long ago had you thinking about it.

I know there is a movement for more energy/fuel economy for LARGE vehicles - like SUV's, trucks, etc. How about if we just get a grip and realize that the time for those as "everybody's vehicle" is over. It was a ridiculous marketing idea in the first place and a ludicrous choice today.

Your vehicle choice and driving habits may be where you can start. I don't know. What I do know is that we've all got to change, and change NOW!

Melbourne Austrailia inacted a 1-hour of light's out event to make a point, and plans to continue it. Other cities have established events limiting car/vehicle travel - walk, bike or public transit to work days. I say, DO IT! Encourage grassroots action. We've got to do something!