By Tyler Grimes
With any article on climate change, it’s tempting to try to grab the reader’s attention with horrifying statistics or stories of natural disasters or the severity of drought, but this is an issue where facts speak loudest:
• The global temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius over the last century. (EPA)
• 2000 to 2010 was the warmest decade on record. (EPA)
• August was the 342nd consecutive month with above average global temperatures. (climate.gov)
John Mattingly
In 2008, George Mason University conducted a thorough, fine-grained survey of U.S. citizens to learn how much people actually knew about climate change. One of the more curious findings was that, when asked whom they believed to be the most reliable source of information about climate change, 66% of those responding gave the name of a television weather person. Al Gore barely got more votes than those who said there was no one they trusted on the topic.
by George Sibley
All the global “meltdowns,” economic and otherwise, have been temporarily, subtly trumped here by the onset of the annual local meltdown that signals “Springtime in the Rockies” – that interval of mud, gray skies, and soggy erratic weather during which, that old song notwithstanding, “I’ll be coming back to you” only if you happen to live in Cuernavaca, or at least Canon City, someplace without dirty snow. Nonetheless, even that onset of mud and sogginess generates an involuntary uptick in the human spirit, no matter what the news from the larger world.
Letter from Slim Wolfe
Global Warming – September 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
Ed Quillen’s editorial assertion that we the people should not need the prod of global warming to steer us towards more sensible consumption was well-taken. In a culture which worships excess few of us are attuned to the subtleties which civilization has sometimes enjoyed. Nothing less than the brashest sounds and the brightest colors (and the goriest images) registers anymore, and achievements are measured by our skill at manipulating buttons and keyboards. The human soul is at stake here, whether or not the oceans rise. We don’t know how to enjoy unless we’re abusing.
Letter from Ide Trotter
Global Warming – September 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
Dear Ed,
Let me congratulate you on your very rational letter “Why Global Warming Doesn’t Matter” in the August Edition. You are so right. There are many valid reasons for steps we can take that move in the right direction.
Letter from Leslie Willoughby
Global Warming – September 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
Dear Ed,
It matters because measurable, repeatable experience enables us to act on our motivations most effectively.
I agree that the motivations for acting in our own best long-term interest are many (Why Global Warming Really Doesn’t Matter, p. 51, August 2006). Actions to decrease use of fossil fuels certainly seem more important than whether your motivation is to save money, to save the planet, or to save your soul. At the same time, the most effective actions are based on a foundation of measurable, repeatable experience (science), so getting the science right is fundamentally important.
