The other day a liberal coworker approached me and told me how the Alpine glaciers in central Europe are melting, and how terrible this has been for Alpine countries. This came on the heels of a conversation about kayaking and mountain hiking. His statements about glacier melting took me off guard and I had no idea how to respond to it. As a liberal, I assumed he was putting in a plug for global warming, Al Gore style. I said nothing and went back about my business.
Knowing nothing about the subject, I decided to research the topic. A Google search gives you many articles about Alpine Glacier melting. Most where written by environmental journalists. Of the ten or so articles I read, the overriding theme is the same, Alpine Glaciers in Switzerland and Italy will no longer exist 50 years from now because of global warming trends. One article said that Switzerland and Italy had to redefine their borders because of landslides caused by melting glaciers.
Although none of these articles seem to directly implicates humans for the warming trend, they suggest that a radical course be adopted to prevent further glacier melting and its undesirable effects. My concern is the tone of these articles.
The unspoken theme is always the same, "If you don't do something now it will be too late." Perhaps this is the call to action of most radical environmentalists and their political allies. Although never directly stated, the radical environmentalist pins the blames on humans and only if we curtail our consumption will these problems go away.
My water cooler friend never comes out to say this either, but you sense it is at the back of his mind.
Knowing nothing about the subject, I decided to research the topic. A Google search gives you many articles about Alpine Glacier melting. Most where written by environmental journalists. Of the ten or so articles I read, the overriding theme is the same, Alpine Glaciers in Switzerland and Italy will no longer exist 50 years from now because of global warming trends. One article said that Switzerland and Italy had to redefine their borders because of landslides caused by melting glaciers.
Although none of these articles seem to directly implicates humans for the warming trend, they suggest that a radical course be adopted to prevent further glacier melting and its undesirable effects. My concern is the tone of these articles.
The unspoken theme is always the same, "If you don't do something now it will be too late." Perhaps this is the call to action of most radical environmentalists and their political allies. Although never directly stated, the radical environmentalist pins the blames on humans and only if we curtail our consumption will these problems go away.
My water cooler friend never comes out to say this either, but you sense it is at the back of his mind.
Since reading the articles and considering the issues myself, I have developed a few theories of my own. The lefty environmentalist has formulated that global warming, caused by humans is the reason for all these environmental catastrophies. The liberal politician is always looking for a way to reach in the our pockets and make us poorer. By placing a higher tax on gas or electricity, the liberal politician gets what he wants, more of our money, and the lefty environmentalist gets what they want, an opportunity to prove their theory! Makes you feel like a guinea pig.
The next time the water cooler guy confronts me, I'll see what he thinks of my theory. Hopefully I will remember to wear my boxing gloves.
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