Someone needs to be saying it and saying it often and it will not matter much if it is you to I here on this blog or any other blog. It needs to be said from as high on up as possible. This is a good start. It is not nearly enough, but I will take what I can get and heap praise on my State'd Senator for saying it.
“The message I have for climate deniers is this: you are endangering humankind,” Boxer said during a press conference in the Capitol. “It is time for climate deniers to face reality, because the body of evidence is overwhelming and the world’s leading scientists agree.”
The Hill
This comes at a very good time as well since the US continues to "drag its heels" at Durban during the latest Climate Summit.
....
There is a growing consensus here in Durban that the United States is the main impediment to progress at these crucial talks. A consortium of 16 of the major environmental groups in the US wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who directly oversees the US climate negotiations. They pointed out that, while President Barack Obama originally campaigned on a promise to lead in global climate negotiations, "three years later, America risks being viewed not as a global leader on climate change, but as a major obstacle to progress."
The fossil-fuel industry exerts enormous influence over the US government, and over the US public, with tens of millions of dollars on lobbying and PR campaigns to shape public opinion. Kumi Naidoo, who has been jailed many times for his activism, compared the struggle against apartheid to the fight against climate change:
"If people around the world can actually unite – trade unions, social movements, religious leaders, environmental groups and so on, which we saw in the march on Saturday – I pray and hope that we will have a similar kind of miracle to get these climate negotiations to deliver a fair, ambitious and legally binding outcome."
The Gaurdian
We are an obstacle, we are an impediment to progress, a Country that supposedly prides itself on being exceptional. Right now, we are merely just a subsidiary of many different Corporations, from Banks to oil companies that have managed to buy public opinion and white wash the reality we face in the future if we fail to act and act swiftly.
“Wishing that climate change will go away by clinging to a tiny minority view is not a policy – it is a fantasy,” Boxer said. “Problems do not go away by pretending they do not exist. And the longer that vocal minority insists on keeping their heads in the sand, the more it endangers billions of people around the globe and threatens to dramatically and negatively reshape the world as we know it.”
These misconceptions did not come from thin air, they were bought and sold from the likes of the Koch Brothers and since so many of us remain comfortable enough with our heads in the sand, the status quo will not change.
But what pains me most is that we need to hear more of this from our leaders, more of this from out President.
Boxer urged negotiators at international climate change talks in Durban, South Africa Wednesday to make “significant progress” on an agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
“The nations of the world must work together to solve this problem, and I call on those gathered in Durban to work toward an international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with transparency and accountability,” Boxer said. “I also hope delegates will make significant progress on generating additional public and private sources of climate financing that will support efforts to reduce emissions.”
It is not the Nations of the world, the largest creator of green house gasses, the United States, needs to stop obstructing the process and lead.
We need to start actually setting an example doing something about our own problem right here.
And action needs to start happening now.
You need to contact President Obama and let him know that we need him to lead on this issue and NOW.