Publisher’s Corner

Let’s All Be Good Scouts For The Planet

Every day is Earth Day. That is a great mantra to live by. Buy I am glad we have one day set aside to celebrate the planet that sustains us. The big question is will we sustain the Mother Earth in return. I have to laugh a bit when Global Warming skeptics pick a cold day in March and say, “Yea, so much for Global Warming.” I sometimes wonder if they have ever listened and learned past their own skewed ideology. I prefer to use the term Global Climate Change. So much of the global economy is based on predictable climate patterns for the growing of crops and other important commerce. When the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere goes up even by a tenth of a degree, weather patterns can change. Suddenly orange groves in Florida suffer hard freezes and other areas are hit with droughts or floods. The ice caps and glaciers are melting causing the oceans to rise. Hurricane patterns and strengths change, too. There is no doubt that we have contributed way too much carbon to our atmosphere causing what some call the “greenhouse effect”. Most scientists don’t waste their time debating climate change anymore. The data is so overwhelming even the most strident opponent has to choke on the olive in their martini. Why would someone oppose the concept of climate change? Do they think it is some secret liberal government conspiracy to destroy the American industrial complex and put people out of work? What would climate change scientists have to gain by trying to save the planet? Oh, yes, THE PLANET! There is so much talk of not leaving huge financial deficits to our children and grandchildren. Why then can’t we be just as concerned about leaving our future generations a planet that is at least in the same condition we found it. There was a saying in Boy Scouts, “Leave the area cleaner than it was when you came.” I would like to think that we can all be good scouts and do the same. Somewhere along the line, the topic of climate change and other green concerns became political footballs. I think this mentality is such a disservice to those conservatives over the years like Barry Goldwater and others who were and are staunch conservationists. Those who have a respect for the land and nature don’t have trouble with environmental issues so long as they leave politics at the door. And over the years we have allowed our politicians to take issues like the environment and health care and turn them into bargaining chips and political collateral. How could we allow the air we breathe, the water we drink, the grass we lie on and the mountains we hold in majesty, to become fodder to fuel the political angst in Washington. We need to keep up the work to improve both the process and product we call democracy. Our elected officials need to hear from us both on the phone, by email and in the voting booth. It won’t matter if our grandchildren are burdened by a huge national debt if there is no sustainable plan for the planet we live on. There are political issues and there are human issues. The health of our people and our planet should be governed by our human compassion and not our ego-driven ideologies.

Happy Earth Day,
J.B. Lester; Publisher