Last week, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came out with a startling report regarding the change in temperature on our planet. As the overall temperature of the Earth continues to rise, the effects are more and more noticeable. According to the IPCC, if we don’t put the brakes on in a hurry, the results could be catastrophic to both humans and many other living creatures on our planet.
This report was meant to be a wake-up call to humanity: figure out ways to do things differently, or the world as you know it will become your enemy in many ways. The chances of drought, floods, and extreme heat will become more of a way of life than an occasional blip on our radar. Many species might lose their habitats, something that is already occurring, and the ripple effect from pollinating insects and corals not having a place to lay their figurative heads will impact the food chain we humans rely upon.
Storms seem to get worse every year as the planet’s temperature is on the move. Deaths from hurricanes and other storms, along with the droughts and forest fires, seem to go up all the time. You barely get done hearing about one catastrophe before another appears on the news. So what can we do?
A lot of this, according to the IPCC, deals with carbon emissions and the deforestation that occurs around our globe. We need to find ways to use more renewable sources of energy to maintain our lifestyles, or our lifestyles might change so dramatically that we’ll wish we had. The next dozen or so years might tell the tale of how our children and grandchildren will be able to live their lives.
And now politics will step in and play a vital role. And it’s not going to be a good role. Almost as soon as this non-partisan report, which used 6000 scientific resources from 91 authors in 40 countries, appeared, it was blasted by President Trump, who has previously said that climate change is a hoax. He claims we’ll be environmentally sound in our country, but we’re not going to lose business for the sake of the environment.
Anyone can see that this will quickly devolve into Republican versus Democrat. And I’m sick of it. The divide in our country grows by the day as politicians attack each other instead of working together to solve problems. The report from the IPCC is a pretty big deal, but we’ll have to listen to endless back and forth between two political parties who are more interested to their own well-being instead of the general good of the country.
And as the election nears, it’ll only get worse. How do we fix this mess? It seems likely that the only way is one that will never happen, since the current politicians would have to go along with it, and that would be bad for business.
Get rid of party affiliations. No more Democrats, no more Republicans, no more anything like that. If you want to run for office, great. Talk about how you feel on the current hot-button issues, and let the voters decide. If we even removed party affiliations from the ballot, how many people would know what each candidate stood for? Or do too many people just go and vote on a straight party line?
Listen, I believe in a lot of what Democrats talk about, but not everything. There are areas I think Republican candidates have the right plan. And I can’t imagine that there aren’t people out there who could make good governors, legislators, and presidents who also have a blend of beliefs. Does the Democratic candidate in your district believe in toeing the line on everything his party says? Does the Republican candidate for that position strictly adhere to everything on their platform?
Those candidates may or may not believe in everything from their parties, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll likely vote the way they’re told, even if they have a different thought on the matter at hand. And that’s unfortunate. You can have a major party candidate represent you, and many people in that area can say they want things done a certain way, but if the party headquarters say otherwise, it doesn’t matter what you think. And that’s wrong. But there’s rarely another way to attain office without belonging to one or the other.
Now, not enough of us voice our opinions to our legislators, but maybe that’s in part because we know how useless it can be. I visited with someone running for office last time around about my concerns regarding education. He nodded a lot and said he agreed with what I said, but since he got into office, he’s done none of what he promised me he would do because that’s not what his party says to do.
Do you suppose the fate of our planet might be worth everyone working together? It won’t matter who’s in charge around here if the professional politicians can’t do that and help save us from some potential apocalyptic changes. Stop being Democrats and Republicans and just be people, working together for the good of the people you are supposed to represent. The planet will thank you.
Fair warning: I don’t generally like to talk about politics here, but this was too important to leave be. Plus, I will spend the next couple of weeks doing a little stumping in some areas I find imperative leading up to the election. I hope you’ll read and consider what I have to say. I will certainly welcome discussion if you want to contact me after either of them.
Word of the Week: This week’s word is coddiwomple, which means to travel purposefully toward an as-yet-unknown destination, as in, “The scientists knew they had to coddiwomple toward a healthy earth and simply know when they had arrived.” Thanks to Karen Ibberson for this fantastic word! Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!