What if... And I don't mean to be a party pooper - but what if it is already too late? The situation is indeed dire, a problem of magnitude which its victims have never imagined in their worse nightmares - and its been going on for so long in an unsustainable state that the conclusion is unavoidable. Infrastructure collapse. Brought to you by those overseers of our economic rules and highway bridges... Our little social system has not had the eyes to see ahead nor the brain to consider what's coming.
-WaV- On 2/7/09, Quinta Wilkinson <qui...@clearwire.net> wrote: > > I know I have not heard this on the news. Wonder why not? > > Quinta > > In his his first interview since taking > office<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-me-warming4-2009feb04,0,567052.story>, > Energy Secretary Steven Chu didn't hold back on what's at stake for > California if the nation doesn't act to stop global warming: vanishing > vineyards, fading farms, and major cities abandoned. > > Why so dire? Because some of the anticipated impacts of climate change > include water shortages in the Upper Midwest and West, which could decimate > California's agricultural production -- the largest in the nation. One worst > case scenario he described would have 90% of the snowpack in the Sierra > Nevada mountain range -- one of the state's major storehouses of fresh water > -- disappearing as global temperatures rise. > > His talk with the Los Angeles Times echoed two recent reports -- one, > released in January, projected global crop > shortages<http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11424897>as a result of > climate change. A study last year by UC Berkeley researchers > suggested that about $2.5 trillion of the state's real estate is at > risk<http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/14/local/me-climate14>, > including land used for agriculture. > > "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could > happen," Chu said. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more > agriculture in California...I don't actually see how they can keep their > cities going," either. > > So what will he do about this as Secretary of Energy? Chu wants to see: > > - Public education on global warming; > > - Billons of dollars invested in alternative energy research and > infrastructure; > > - A national standard for electricity generated from renewable > sources; > > - Cap-and-trade legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions. > > > He said the threat of warming is keeping policymakers focused on > alternatives to fossil fuel, even though gasoline prices have fallen over > the last six months from historic highs. But he said public awareness needs > to catch up. He compared the situation to a family buying an old house and > being told by an inspector that it must pay a hefty sum to rewire it or risk > an electrical fire that could burn everything down. > > "I'm hoping that the American people will wake up," Chu said, and pay the > cost of rewiring. > >
