Hate And Coping In Copenhagen

It’s cliche but still true.

The direction of the world’s climate future is not so much dependent on what happened in Copenhagen, Denmark last week.

It’s more important what you do on your own block.

Sure, you could have swam across the Atlantic like a nostalgic anarchist to reinact the WTO protest in Seattle circa 1999.

But that is certainly not necessary.

All that is required is to learn basic human survival skills in the comfort of your own home.

You don’t see coral reefs getting their panties in a tuff over some “Danish text” or doctored emails, do you?

And if you did, what size were the panties?

Back to the point: change your habits. Now. Immediately. Before Houston becomes Venice and Galveston, Atlantis.

Consider this your intervention. It costs you only, well, nothing, but the rewards are plenty.

Do you really need to fly to see your nephew in Oregon this Christmas? Can’t you ride a train instead?

Actually, do you really need to ride a train? Can’t you send him a note via email?

And do you really need to keep your personal computer on when you sleep? Can’t you share a computer at your local library?

By the way, do you really need to build another library in your community forest land? Can’t you could just add on to an existing one at the school?

Think about it: do you really want to spend that much time with your nephew? He’s so demanding, isn’t he?

Think about this: in 1859, Edwin L. Drake developed the world’s first oil drill.

And within a blink of a geological eye, the world has lost half of its oil.

But within a blink of the other geological eye, humans are moving back to where they started.

The first drink took only 100 years; by human standards, that’s not so bad.

Civilizations come, and they go. So do bee hives, birds nests, and said reefs.

However, this is by no means a plea to surrender; in fact, we’re not even talking about “civilization” here.

We’re talking habits — simple habits like picking your nose in public (bad) or wiping your bum in private (good).

Truth be told, humans will eventually no longer have the resources to fix bicycles since flat tires require rubber, a petro-chemical synthetic or otherwise.

   But by that time, our grandchildren will be fluent in tracking wild game like our water-breathing ancestors before us.

Who said you can’t cross a land bridge twice?

— Nathan Diebenow