The environment is nothing but a joke to the politicians
I managed to catch that CNN special where they had 5 former US Secretary of States on and a couple reporters were interviewing them They had Henry Kissinger, Madeline Albright, Warren Christopher, Colin Powell and James Baker. The purpose of the panel was to see what the newly elected President needed to do to be successful.
The moderator asked a question, albeit a horribly vague and general one. She asked something to the effect of …’Can we all agree on the importance of the environment??’ or something to that effect. The point being that the environment is headed in a direction that is not in the best interest of our current society. OR something to that effect. And that the environment should be a serious consideration for political debate.
Well the response to her question was clearly the problem with why nothing is being done to help the environment. The main response was James Baker, who laughed. And actually made some joke about cow farts being the main problem causing our current declining environmental conditions.
This is the heart and soul of the problem. When politicians think the environment is a joke and can’t even talk about it seriously, then not much is ever going to be done. Either their immense stupidity or their unmotivated self interest has clouded the issue. To laugh about our environment as a response to a question about improving conditions is horrific. And as long as its a joke to politicians, especially republicans, then nothing else will be done.
We’ve been talking about global warming for a long time. What has been done in the last 20 years? It doesn’t seem like very much, if anything. We are producing more plastic than ever, the republicans want to drill in Wildlife Refuges and off shore (where it is now illegal to do so and for a good reason). And rather than developing and actually implementing alternative sources or energy (Namely solar and wind), we have squandered the last 20 or 30 years knowing full well something needs to be done.
According to a geologist at the USGS, it’s natural for the earth to warm up. It’s part of a cycle. The question is how much is man accelerating that process? But even then, just considering the former summer olympics in a city riddled with pollution, it’s clear that there is an effect on our immediate health. And if for nothing else, that should be an important enough consideration to actually do something.
But what has happened? Bush has loosened restrictions and the power that the EPA has on regulating the corporations in the US.
So when I see James Baker laughing to a question about the environment, it’s clearly not even important enough to warrant any future consideration. Maybe when more and more people actually develop dire respiratory problems, then something might be done. But I doubt it.
