The Global Warming Picture

As noted earlier, U.S. Representative Edward Markey is the clear favorite to win the Democratic primary for the nomination to run for John Kerry's Senate seat in a special general election in Massachusetts, and with Scott Brown out of the way, Markey is also the favorite in said election.  If he wins and becomes the Bay State's next senator, Markey will be a strong voice on progressive causes, particularly on energy and the environment.  In fact, when the Democrats last controlled the House, Markey was the first chairman of a newly created House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming to help the United States reduce its reliance on carbon fuels and adopt a greener energy policy.  He was also its only chairman; the Republicans eliminated the committee when they regained control of the House in 2011.

Sadly, the Republican position on doing nothing about climate change is the more popular one in this country.  Even though many Americans acknowledge that climate change is real, they know that doing something about it requires a changing our behavior vis-a-vis how we live and consume resources.  But many Americans simply don't want to make such a change.  Voters in Republican Middle America in particular simply don't want to have to give up this . . .

  . . . or this . . .

. . . which they love to travel in to get to places like this . . .

. . . and of course a lot of them can't live without this!

Besides, with less of a reliance on oil, we'll have to get food grown without petrochemicals, and I don't think many of those Tea Party types want an agricultural system that operates like this . . .

. . . because that's no way to produce processed foodstuffs, or packaged snacks like these!

Trust me, these aren't going anywhere.

Less reliance on fossil fuels means living in cities, where people take up less space and can get around without a car if they can't have one or if they don't want to rely so much on one. But many folks in Middle America would rather not live in one of these . . .

. . . because there's no room in the back for this.

They especially don't want to live in something like this . . .

. . . and besides, they don't want to have to ride on this!

Or even this!

Nor do many white suburbanites want to live next door to anyone who looks like this . . .

. . . or this . . .

. . . or even a woman who looks like this . . .

. . . because, next thing you know, Junior will be dating her.

And heaven forbid anyone living in a more environmentally conscious America should be asked to give up this!

This means that people are much less likely to support this . . .

. . . or get behind this . . . 

. . . and they'll be more likely to vote for politicians like this!

This is James Inhofe, the Republican senior senator from Oklahoma. He believes that global warming, despite all the evidence in favor of its existence, is a hoax perpetrated by enemies of American free-market capitalism. He is likely to become one of Ed Markey's new co-workers.

Get the picture?