As the loonies of the eco-left march demanding that we need to act now to save the environment, act now to halt global warming, there is much that they are missing. And what they are missing is vitally important.
The truth is that, while it is possible we are in a natural warming cycle, it is also possible that a portion of the environmental problems have a man made genesis. The truth is, that, had our founding fathers had perfect foresight, they could have halted global warming entirely by banning the Industrial revolution and demanding that anyone trying to harness electricity or develop patents was guilty of witchcraft, and hang 'em high. The truth is, IF the environmental problems come from our technological development, the majority of these problems began long before any of us were born. And that current concerns are evidence of the sins of the father being visited on the child.
Al Gore may want to demand that 60 watt incandescent bulbs are driving us towards extinction, but the truth is, we've done a lot to rectify much of the damage we inflicted early on. No longer are our rivers catching fire, no longer does the stench of open sewer give away the location of the nearest watershed, and several species have been brought back from the brink of extinction. All in all, we've done a pretty good job of bringing a certain degree of order back to the earth.
The truth is, many of our modern conveniences simply cannot be abandoned. Not unless we want to face mass starvation and death among the human race, catastrophes that would restore our population to levels sustainable in a world that has abandoned its technology. Who's going to volunteer to be casualties of this mass Jonestown? I'm not taking a ticket, I'm not lining up. I will leave it to those who demand that our creature comforts must be surrendered to "save the earth" to make the sacrifices. I can live without electricity if need be. Can you?
We must face the fact that to some degree we need to learn to live with the consequences of decisions made by our forebearers. Decisions that left us with a less than optimal environment, and a world that needed cleaning up. But we also must face the fact that certain things are beyond our control, and stop trying to halt the advancing tide when it is an impossible goal. In short, IF warming levels will be rising to levels never ever seen before in the universe, IF our seas are rising, better head for higher ground and hope nobody's there to fight you for the top spot. Because we cannot reverse the damage of the past, no matter how hard we try.