All Hands on Deck

  If I only had a dollar for every time conservatives have changed their opinion regarding global warming, or climate change, or whatever you want to call it. First, they said it wasn’t happening. Then, they said it was only a natural cycle. Then, they said it was happening, but that mankind’s actions weren’t responsible. Then, they said that we may be responsible, but it would be too expensive to correct. I have no idea what they are saying now as the American conservative movement has gone from mendacious and greedy to batshit crazy.
  It seems obvious to any thinking adult who’s read a newspaper or turned on the TV in the past year that the global climate patterns have become nothing less than insane. Records in weather-related disasters are stacking up like cars in a highway pile up. Here in Spain, we’ve had the hottest summer on record, at least until next summer. How much hotter will it have to get before most plants and animals die out? Hell, I almost died a couple of times this summer riding my bike, an activity I generally relish.
   Combatting climate change should become a world-wide priority, especially in the developed countries that use much more energy and resources than the poorer nations.
   For the first time, the USA has made a major commitment to fighting climate change with the bill recently passed by President Biden. It’s a start. The biggest concern should be educating the public on the need for all of us to work together towards this end. We should be asking every citizen to do their part to work towards a goal of reducing carbon emissions and overall waste.
   I would never lecture anyone, or expect them to follow my example, but mine isn’t a horrible example to follow. I gave up driving years and years ago to the point where I hardly even bother with taxis. I shower in a container and use this water for other purposes. I walk up and down the stairs in my building, taking the elevator only when I have my bike. I recycle fanatically. The thing is, my behavior is not that out of the ordinary here in Spain where water resources are scarce and people learn to live frugally.
  What’s wrong with frugal?

  The weird thing is that I don't have kids and I won't be around a lot longer (but probably long enough to at least begin to see the shit hit the global warming fan). I just follow this path because it seems like the right thing to do.