Climate Change Could Be Like Health Crisis

For those of us living in Southern California and used to having sunny days and pleasant weather, the past week-and-a-half has sucked. It rained, and then it rained, and then it rained, seeming like it would never stop. The expected landslides and washouts happened with road closings, traffic accidents, and bouts of depression. It felt more like being in the Pacific Northwest than in El Lay. If you're watching national weather reports, this seems to be part of a bigger picture - weather cycles are out of the norm and causing severe consequences.

Al Gore might be right about greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and climate change. The main point of the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" was not really about hot weather being the norm (if you're confused by the term "global warming") - as the earth's climate warms and transforms, the usual weather cycles are thrown off kilter and Mother Nature is throwing tantrums - sometimes freezing cold and later hot as hell producing catastrophes. That started being more clear in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, and since then, many hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, and snowstorms have been experienced. As ice caps melt and storms wash across the planet, flooding will become the biggest problem, and this wreaks much havoc. It ain't easy seeing your house float away.

Some would say that weather patterns are changing, but that's normal in the history of this planet, and there's nothing we can do about it. I would say, what if you're wrong? I would say, let's see what we can do about it. It reminds me of going through my own health crisis with encephalitis, and having people in my life dealing with cancer and other fatal conditions. We all had decisions to make about how much we were committed to getting well. That means making changes in nutrition, exercise, medical care, testing, and trying out alternative methods such as acupuncture, herbs, and yoga. If we're stewards on this planet being held accountable by Mother Nature, perhaps it would be most wise and responsible to do all we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, embrace green machines and clean technology, and environmentally sound practices.