In about 15 years, civilization will plunge into chaos. Governments will collapse. Nations will fall. The dead will walk with the living. Worst of all, there won’t be any polar bears left. And it’s all because of global warming. Golly. The world will be facing global catastrophe on an unprecedented scale. There will be war, economic instability and natural disaster. “Nuclear conflict, mega droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world,” asserted a Feb. 22, 2004, article from the U.K.’s The Observer.
There will be “a rise in sea levels [which] will create major upheaval for millions,” as early as 2005, the report notes. I don’t believe millions of Europeans will be forced to migrate because of flooding or that Britain will descend into a “Siberian” climate by 2020, as The Observer alleges. We’ve seen false predictions about climate change before, such as the global cooling scare of the 1970s. We’ve been frightened into thinking it’s all America’s fault the world is overpolluted. Liability for the world’s potential energy and natural resource crises supposedly rests with us, too. America is also to blame for most military conflicts – either because we intervene too much or too little in foreign affairs – depending on which pundits you choose to read. For example, we are told to ignore the potential genocide in Iraq resulting from a premature U.S. withdrawal, but we must intervene on behalf of the genocide in Darfur – despite such an intervention posing no national benefit for the U.S. But with global devastation around the corner, it’s time to gear up for combat. “Warfare would define human life” as a result of global warming, according to a Pentagon report obtained by The Observer. Writer Umberto Eco witnessed the horrors of World War II first-hand. In “Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt,” Eco wrote of the potential benefit war has to offer. He spoke of the fascist view of life as permanent warfare and its resulting “Armageddon complex.” He also explained common interest unites people who lack social identity. Eco’s analysis confirms that the attraction of war is its resulting mobilization of society. It gives people a common function and mission. I agree, but I’m less than satisfied with its negative connotation of the global war on warming. I rarely agree with Democrats on their conclusions and solutions, but I find myself being the ever-increasing skeptic when it comes to the conservative logic of climate change. Conservatives by definition, should be the ones trying to conserve the planet. What scares me most isn’t the findings of this story so much as its source – a secret report by the Pentagon obtained by the British paper. Pentagon defense adviser Andrew Marshall commissioned the report – which led CIA consultant Peter Schwartz to label global warming a higher risk to national security than terrorism – according to The Observer. I’m not a scientist. I can’t even tell you one thing I learned from any of the science classes I’ve taken. But even I can’t pretend this isn’t a real threat. With everyone from Al Gore to Rush a telling us the other side is lying, I don’t know who to believe. Both sides admit there are factors scientists ignore when reaching conclusions on climate change. Neither side seems willing to debate the facts and fallacies surrounding global warming, according to the non-profit organization Environmental Defense. Meanwhile, average people like us are stuck with nothing but political dogma to guide our beliefs about climate change. I have more vital and tangible things to worry about – like where I want to eat tonight. Politicians ignore the popular will of the people on a daily basis and refuse to act on the most essential issues of the day, from global warming down to illegal immigration. This is because they’re more worried about elections than solutions. And with help from people like me who don’t have a clue, the cycle of ignorance and inaction never ends. Liberals shouldn’t close the door on debate or spread doom and gloom just to raise awareness. But more importantly, conservatives can’t afford to close the door on responsibility and pretend there isn’t a problem. America has again been called to lead a global war against evil. Only this time, we’re holding a gun up to the mirror. We’re facing a natural evil – and the tragedy is, it’s an evil entirely self-inflicted. While I read newspaper articles about crises blamed on climate change and checked online sources about myths of global warming, I wonder if our leaders will answer the call or dispel the lies. So I’m all ears and hoping we can start the debate before it’s too late. A victory in the War on Terror won’t matter if we lose the planet because we didn’t worry about the environmental impact of compounds emitted by dry-erase markers or drive hybrid cars.
—-Contact Daniel Lumetta at [email protected]