"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."
—George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States
According to National Oceanic & Atmospheric Ad-ministration and every other scientific body of integ-rity, there is no scientific debate about the reality that greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere have in-creased significantly in recent years. Nor is there any question that this is the result of human activity, most of it from the combustion of coal, oil and gas and a few other toxic substances.
The global warming caused by greenhouse gases is having and will have consequences, including drought, floods, wildfires, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, ecosystem disruption, species extinction, heat waves and more severe and frequent hurricanes. There are still fantastical political debates about whether green-house gases and global warming are real, just as there are still members of the Flat Earth Society. My per-sonal favorite naysayer to the scientific evidence of global warming is Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, who says it's a "hoax" without scientific merit promoted by The Weather Channel, which he said " ... would like to have people afraid all the time." A handful of political pundits have said of Inhofe that he is "maybe the dumbest U.S. senator of them all."
Why would voters elect dumb people to public office? This question and its answer(s) are signs of the time.
Parts of Australia are enduring the longest drought in history, and water tables have dropped accordingly. The premier of Queensland, Peter Beattie, recently warned his countrymen that as a result of the drought they will soon have to start drinking water that con-tains recycled sewage. He said of this unpopular decision, "We're not getting rain; we've got no choice. These are ugly decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold; it's a matter of life and death." A sign of the times: from pristine water to recycled sewage.
Global warming is contributing to the survival and proliferation of the tiny mountain pine beetle, which makes its living by killing trees and it is doing just that with great efficiency throughout western North Amer-ica. Millions of acres of trees have been killed and more are dying, and dead trees are great fuel for wild-fires. The whitebark pine likes to live at elevations around 9,800 feet, historically too cold even in summer for pine beetles to thrive, but in recent years warmer temperatures have allowed mountain pine beetles to flourish and kill large areas of whitebark pine. Grizzly bears make their living in large part from the pine nuts of the high elevation whitebark pine, and if those pines are dead the bears will search for food at lower elevations where, among other things, human-grizzly encounters will increase. In the long run, grizzly bear always loses in those encounters.
In the Arctic, marine biologists report that polar bears are drowning as a result of being forced to swim farther between melting ice floes in a search for food. Polar bears are also reported to be resorting to cannibalism to survive. Even in the short run, polar bear is losing too.
The world's most expensive house is currently be-ing built (on spec) at an exclusive, private country club-ski area, The Yellowstone Club near Big Sky, Mont. Timber baron Tim Blixseth, The Yellowstone Club developer ranked 346 on the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, who made his money by cutting down trees, is asking $155 million for what is called a "megamanse" and named "The Pinnacle." It will sit on 160 acres and include four guest cottages. The drive-way will cost an estimated $2 million, the last half mile of which will be heated. The wine cellar will hold 8,000 bottles of wine. Architect Jerry Locati says of his crea-tion, "It's an adult, well, actually family-oriented home, a sort of Disneyland-scale home for someone who is not afraid to spend money. It will have the usual home theater but will also include a bowling alley, an indoor-outdoor pool and an amazing wine cellar. You'll be able to park 30 or 40 cars. Perfect for someone with a car collection and of course the ideal service entrance for caterers." The Pinnacle will have a private, covered gondola to take people from the house directly to the ski hill.
In 2006, oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the larg-est profit by a U.S. company of $39.5 billion, ahead of the previous record of $36.13 billion, which the same company set in 2005.
D.H. Lawrence, British poet, essayist and novelist, said, "The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer."
Al Gore was nominated last week for the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a good sign in any time, particularly this one.
