Sunday, November 18, 2007

Are They Talking to Me?

The NYTimes has published another of those articles about the IPCC saying that we - the US and China especially - have got to do something about global warming by 2012 or the penalties for our inaction will greatly exceed the costs of our taking action as individuals and nations, changing our personal and national lifestyles. President Bush has joined the chorus of national leaders because his opposition to the Kyoto Accords up to now has been the fact that it gave developing countries a free ride, placing the burden on developed countries only. That is no longer so.

I tend to agree with scientists though I don't trust their predictions totally. 2012 could be 2008 or 2019 for all I know. It could be 2005. But it is growing harder and harder to find credible scientists or politicians who will strongly dispute Global Warming (but Sen. Inhofe still appears in the media).

What does all this have to do with you, dear reader? Well, by your reading this far you are part of the technically savvy, younger, educated demographic. You are the early adopters, the trend setters, the persons others ask about their personal transportation decisions. After all, this is AutoblogGreen. In my case, thinking and acting green is not a hobby or a sideline, it is what I have been doing since 1980.

Back in the 1980s or 1990s, there was a TV ad featuring an experienced auto technician. His refrain about auto maintenance was pretty clear: "You can pay me now (to maintain your car properly), or you can pay me later (to repair some major failure.") Seems the stakes are much higher these days. The voice we are hearing is no longer the savvy technician. Perhaps the IPCC is channeling Mother Nature. Back in the same time period, there was another TV ad featuring this symbol of our total world. It said, "Don't mess with Mother Nature." Can you hear it too?

 

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