Free air...free fear

I don't know what is worse. The fact that we must now pay for tire air for our gas-guzzling, inefficient automobiles...or that I have actually been PAYING for said air. I feel such the fool. Today that ended. I went to AutoZone and purchased a small, $16 air compressor. Humph. Now I can have all the air I want...even on the road. It will only take 16 tire inflations to make this little baby start paying for itself in free air. A wise investment has been made...may I suggest you do the same?

Free air. What a concept. We breathe it. We use it to inflate tires. Politicians abuse it. Land of the free. Where apparently fear is all the rage and just as "free" as the air.

Why are so many people so afraid of change? Specifically, change related to positive environmental changes? Yes, I just watched An Inconvenient Truth (finally), and have come to the realization that the only people who find it "preachy" must be those who are insanely resistant to its message. The facts and science presented in the movie are all in the public domain for our perusal...so why are so many people angry at the suggestion that perhaps we are decadent, inefficient, selfish bastards who might want to make a few minor changes for our and everyone's benefit?

Political will. Gore mentions this more than once. And I distinctly recall this phrase coming out of my own mouth a couple weeks ago when explaining the disaster that is Social Security to my students...who had no idea how SS worked OR why it is a problem. After I gave the brief overview, they were outraged...and now feel as helpless as I do, I'm sure. Back to the fear of the environment.

At the risk of devolving into a right-left blame game dichotomy, I will say that most of the accusations of "hoax" and "bullshit" are coming from the political conservative camp. Coincidence? No, because true conservatives are also capitalists...and the greatest myth surrounding positive environmental change is the mythical (and highly unlikely) destruction of business and the economy as we now know it. Business and the economy would just change. Change with different businesses, entrepreneurial opportunities, and yes, even investment opportunities. (And how about that all-powerful morality card? Is it MORAL to wantonly destroy a finite resource, like the earth?! What WOULD Jesus do? An exceedingly uncomfortable question, I'm sure.) The question, what if the destruction of the economy doesn't happen, is neither politic nor comfortable for many conservatives to answer. I'm thinking specifically of my dad and uncle and others I know who are attached at the hip to rhetorical vitriol of people like the illustrious racist, Rush Limbaugh. They say China spews more pollutants than us...which a) is not true and b) does not negate OUR responsibility. Since when does America wait for freakin' China to do something before we do? Good grief.

I like trees. I like rivers and oceans. I don't like ice. But I must say that the ice was the most compelling and eye-opening element of Gore's argument. Hard to argue with dozens of pictures of ice shelves and glaciers that are no longer there because they MELTED. Oh, this is so frustrating! How could anyone look at those pictures and say, "didn't happen," or "they'll come back," or "don't take away my SUV!" Grrrrr.

When WILL there be political will to stop fearing the environment? When our food supply starts diminishing? When Greenland partially melts for good and Key West is under water? I just don't understand what is so terrifying about a) change and b) helping the environment stay healthy. Why is this such a fearful task? Do corporate execs dislike their green, manicured lawns? Do politicians find trees and wildlife offensive? Do none of them like to breathe?

Money. The people at the top of the world's food chain have the most money and will die last, due to their vast personal resources...which is why they don't give a shit what happens to the rest of us. Least of all to the poorest elements of society...or, say, a forest. Or a species of animal or insect.

Think of it this way. If the environmental scientists (yes, ALL of them) are right, and we are headed for tragedy AND our government and corporations decide to act and make some small necessary changes, thus reducing our "carbon footprint," what will it cost? The result will be one of two options: things will stay the same or things will improve. On the other hand, if the scientists (yes, ALL of them) are right and we do nothing, things will either stay the same or get incredibly worse. Personally, I'd prefer the first option. But then, we do live in a country where the politicians seem to think that having the largest number of the most powerful nuclear weapons will somehow protect us from absolute destruction.

I admit I don't know what the answer is. I only know that it is becoming incredibly frustrating to be well-educated, well-read, well-studied...and realize there's not a damn thing I can do. If the oceans are going to heat up, if the storms will continue growing in size and strength, if the bees die off and reduce pollination worldwide...despite how adamantly I talk about it, encourage others to think about it, and vote for people who care about it...there is actually nothing I can do unless those in power deign to act.

Fear is as free as the air and just as easy to swallow. The hard thing is to close your mouth, open your eyes, ears, and brain, and realize that one of these is poison.