Now, Not Tomorrow

According to recent headlines President Bush is urging new greenhouse gas goals. However at the same time the U.S. has not ratified the Kyoto treaty and according to a BBC article the other day, the President will oppose any demands for the U.S. to cut carbon emissions.

I had said in a previous blog post that politico’s right, left and center spend so much time arguing details that we go ‘round and ‘round that nothing gets accomplished. To me this is just another example of going ‘round again.

President Bush also said new technologies will solve our problem and there are many breakthroughs on the horizon. I agree there seem to be many breakthroughs on the horizon and that’s great, but what do we do in the mean time? We can just wait for new technology to solve our problems.

I feel like I’m watching smokers who continually say “I know cigarette’s are bad for me and I’m gonna quit. This week I’m cutting back, next week I’ll cut back more and eventually I’ll quit.” In my experience most of these people never quit. It takes conviction, motivation and honesty with yourself, combined with a lot of willpower to quit smoking. The same can be said for the politicos on issues like these.

We need to stop talking about next year, 2012, and 2050. Steps can be taken now, regardless of party affiliation and new technologies on the horizon, to help stem the problems we’re facing.

Through my work with canvas I’ve talked with people in many aspects of this realm. Most disagree with the President’s statement that “we’re in the lead on this.” Feedback from all I’ve spoken to and all I’ve read says we’re not in the lead. They point to other countries that are. Let’s stop kidding ourselves, take a look around, and see for yourself, you’ll quickly see that although we clearly have the capability to be, we’re not in the lead.

Where are the coordinated mass transit efforts, where are the coordinated home building efforts and other coordinated efforts? The key word here is “coordinated.”

I applaud the states, cities, towns and individuals throughout the country who have stopped waiting for next year, 2012, 2050 or the coordinated effort and are doing things now.

I urge all of us to demand our National Government, regardless of party affiliation, to stop arguing the details, waiting for next year, 2012 or 2050 and start taking steps now.

Tom Pellicane – Publisher