A few years ago, a study was done of the North Carolina shores. The findings by the scientific community is that the sea level will rise by 39 inches over the next one hundred years, the result of which will permanently change our shorelines. What did the North Carolina legislature do with this information?
They banned the use of further studies.
Now NASA reports that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting at a pace that has reached "irreversible decline". You can read the entire article here.
I am not a scientist and I'm not here to debate global warming. I'm just a writer and someone who has come to believe that we shouldn't take our planet for granted. Industrialization has done much to further the advancement of human beings, but it has come at a price. I believe we have the science to correct our course so we can continue to advance as well as preserve the planet for our grandchildren and their children.
But first we have to be willing to recognize the problem and not bury our heads in the sand. Of course, there's a lot to be gained by politicians willing to go that route. They don't risk alienating their constituents who live along the coast and who don't want to see their property values erode. And besides, by the time the sea levels rise, those politicians will be long dead and forgotten.
To see ABC News' report on the banning of scientific studies impacting
the coastline by the North Carolina legislature, visit this link: http://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-bans-latest-science-rising-sea-level/story?id=16913782
It takes courage to see into the future and to be willing to sound the alarm that we should correct our course. Take, for example,Clair Patterson, the scientist who discovered that lead, particularly in gasoline, was poisoning us. He came up against the most powerful opponents on earth: the oil industry. That took real courage. But he persevered against the odds and the result today is unleaded gasoline. Read the story here.
Patterson's work did not plunge us back into the Dark Ages. We still have automobiles and they still use gasoline. By taking the lead out, we managed to stop a substance from poisoning us (which also led to banning the use of lead in paint and children's toys, among other things) and we are still able to enjoy the things we've come to rely on.
We need leaders from around the world to continue the push toward a cleaner planet. Yes, we'll all be gone by then - you and me and the others reading this post. But don't you want your grandchildren and their children to have a planet they can continue to live and thrive on?
What's your opinion?
