CLIMATE CHANGE

Apparently there is a banner on a highway on California that says, "What have future generations done for you?"  Obviously future generations have done nothing for us.  The real point behind the question is why should we worry about climate change?  After all, we may be dead and gone and we don't care what happens to future generations. 

The question should be, "What have past generations done for you?"  We stand on the shoulders of many thousands of years of past generations, and millions of people.  They have created the civilization in which we live.  We were not born in caves because of past generations.  We are no longer hunters and gatherers because of past generations.  We have schools and universities; we have cars and freeways (in reference to where the banner was placed).  Everything that we have came from past generations.  There is a phrase that some people use when they have helped another person who then says, "How can I pay you back?"  The phrase is, "Pay it forward."  That means, help someone else. 

We really can never pay back the people who have created our civilization.  We can only pay it forward to the people who come after us.  Now maybe we are thinking, our civilization leaves a lot to be desired.  That is true.  We have to keep on working on it.  Progress is never in a straight line.  It is always two steps forward and one step backwards.  We have many problems.  But that is no reason to destroy the earth. 

People have made a great deal of money by drilling for oil.  They don't want to stop.  However, the time has come to stop.  We need to move to clean energy: wind and solar.  We can do it.  But the oil companies and big investors do not want to do it and are trying in every way to stop our progress.  We have created enough destruction with oil.  The earth has been ravaged.  Even the oceans have been ravaged.  They are filled with oil.  It is past time to stop it.  And now we have an even greater reason to stop it.  We may be creating very serious problems with climate change.  It is the oil companies who insist that there is no such thing as climate change.  We could not possible be harming the climate.  But we only have to look at our earth to see the pollution and damage.  It must be stopped.