Oh no!

Distracted by the current media blitz on the sad news of Governor Spitzer's tragic flaw, Geraldine Ferraro's disappoinment about being forgotten, and the supposed racial dynamics of this campaign, President Bush has slipped in more damage, this time to the earth. This is bad on many levels: 1) Most important, this hurts our planet. It is like discovering that you have an allergy to bee stings and deciding to hang out by the beehive just a little longer; 2) This hurts people, not just glaciers. Greenhouse gases will cause more health problems, and they will change our culture and our economy. Ultimately we will die from this; 2) This degrades the office of the presidency. Leadership is no longer guidance for the good of the people. It is protection for the wealth of the few - for now.
For those who think that this is a problem for the future, recognize that climate change is already happening. Even if we try to fix it today we might not succeed. And if you imagine for one minute this isn't affecting you, let me tell you that there is a reason so many of you are anxious and depressed. In my research, I am exploring how many psychological symptoms are the early warning signs of environmental change. If you understand that we humans are a part of nature, and a member of the complex ecosystem we know as earth, what society does to the climate it also does to us. This will have an effect on our bodies and our minds. In this sense, our own government continues to abuse its citzens by violating the environment that sustains us. Try reading that headline to your kids at the breakfast table.
On peoples' minds: "I don't understand this mommy! What is going on? Why are people shooting wolves? Why are they killing elephants? Why do people need money so badly that they do these things to animals? And why can't we just stop global warming? Why is President Bush doing this to us? Why is he not trying to lower the ozone levels? Why?" - my 10 year old child, at the breakfast table this morning. Do I dare share the news a colleague sent me about the salmon?
In the News: Unfortunately, while TPM and some of the major print media continue to plug away at the environemntal issues, most other journalists, especially TV, and, unfortunately, some bloggers, are fixated more on who said what about whom in this election and much less on one of the biggest problems confronting the human race.
Ecological tip of the day: Stay informed. And then, instead of psychologically disconnecting from the overwhelming reality, feel it. Then act on it.