People's Climate, Corporations' Government

This past Sunday (September 21), over three hundred thousand people marched in New York City to demand the the governments of the world do something about climate change. Amen.  I always say "Amen" after a prayer.  And climate change advocates barely have one.

Although most national governments have made efforts to do something about climate change, most of the biggest polluters in the world refuse to make more than a token effort to combat the problem, if even that.  And - I'm sorry (no, I'm not) - the United States may not be the only major country that pollutes the atmosphere more than it should, but it's easily the top Katzenjammer among the countries that pay lip service to climate change.  Even China - a bigger polluter than the U.S. - is prepared to address climate change now.

The reason has less to do with the American  people than with the federal government, whose elected officials receive campaign contributions from oil and coal companies to deny the science of climate change.  Alternative-energy companies - many of which rely on government subsidies - don't have the large business or the profit margins of the oil and coal companies (who also get federal subsidies) and so couldn't lobby Congress in their favor even if they tried.  The big corporations don't just finance candidates for the government; they are the government.  And many Americans have to stop being so hypocritical about climate change.  If you drive SUVs, if you travel 35 miles to work one way, if you live in a subdivision that requires you to drive your kids everywhere due to lack of sidewalks, if you prefer the mall to Main Street, well, you're part of the problem.  If you live in a transit-friendly community where you can get anywhere nearby in a walk, and if you use solar energy at home, you're a saint.

And I'll be praying for your cause.  Because the Republicans are likely to take over both houses of Congress in November, and there could be a Republican ensconced in the White House in January 2017, so American leadership on addressing climate change isn't likely.  And if the GOP is running everything in 2017, it won't just be the lights going out on Broadway that we'll have to worry about.