Any actions which jeopardize our leaving as good or better a planet for our offspring should rightly be called intergenerational neglect.
The warming of the earth as a result of human activity is new.
It is global in scope and complex in nature.
It is not gonna get solved by sitting on the couch being entertained in air conditioned comfort.
It will require thought and effort for which the only payment will be that there will be an earth for future generations to enjoy.
If you aren't already concerned about the effects of global warming and disruptive climate change, then you probably don't know the facts:
If current warming trends continue, the world's oceans are likely to rise by six to twenty feet over the next 100 years. At some point well before that, Long Island would become uninhabitable and Long Islanders would become extinct.
The average automobile, driven 10,000 miles, emits 5.5 tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon emissions from motor vehicles are the single greatest source of all greenhouse warming. The United States has the most registered motor vehicles of any country. Nearly one for every adult over 18. We also have the least efficient fleet of vehicles on the road. This is not a recipe for the effective conservation of fossil fuels, nor is it a good combination when it comes to reducing total carbon emissions considering how much we rely on our cars.
The ten hottest years on Earth on record have all occurred within the last fourteen years, 2005 being the warmest individual year to date. This warming is caused by a rising concentration of carbon gases in the atmosphere which trap the sun's energy rather than releasing it back into space. By studying ice core samples from Antarctica, the N.O.A.A. (National Oceanic and Aeronautics Administration) knows that atmospheric carbon levels are the highest they have been for the past 650,000 years! Coincidentally, this spike in carbon levels occurs at the same time human began the industrial age with our utterly short-sighted reliance on coal and later, oil.
One important consequence of rising global temperatures is that the Arctic ice cap is melting so fast that at its current rate it will be gone by the year 2050. Aside from the chance that this could induce the beginning of the next ice age, it also means that polar bears will become extinct, just like Long Islanders.
As temperatures rise, insect-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and hantavirus spread out of the swamps and start breeding in higher elevations and more temperate climates. Consider the concern over Avian Flu and SARS- it is clear that new disease patterns are a cause of great concern for human survival. The Bubonic Plague or "Black Death" killed 40-60% of the European population at the time. The issue of heat related death has grown into a national concern for many countries, particularly those with older populations who are most susceptible. In the summer of 2003, 35,000 deaths in the eight major European nations were attributable to heat related causes.
The Kyoto Protocol on Global Climate Change was introduced in 1997 and has since been ratified by more than 156 nations. Its goal is to reduce global carbon emissions to counteract the effects of global warming.
The United States remains the only major industrialized nation not to have signed this treaty into law.
Although Americans make up only 4% of the world's population, we still account for 22% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
This gives us a special responsibility in finding a solution.
Sources:U.S. Dept. Of Transportation - N.O.A.A. - stopglobalwarming.com - climatecrisis.org - Earth Policy Institute, Washington D.C.
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