Dante once said the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain neutrality. I would like to add to the reservation list those who choose to pretend the moral crisis doesn’t exist. In fact, let’s add everyone else.
There is no hope of stopping the effects of global warming. The days will only get hotter.
We live in apathetic times. We live in selfish times. We live in an age where everything must be done quickly and where a book with chapters that are more than four pages long will bore the masses.
With the beginning of Summer Semester and a month of record-breaking heat, I felt determined to change my life forever. I watched “An Inconvenient Truth”–again. I spent an obscene amount of money on light bulbs that make everyone look yellow. I considered riding a bike, taking TRAX more often, even shutting off my computer when I wasn’t home.
I couldn’t do it, though.
I don’t have time to ride a bike. I don’t want to wait for a train. I want to be alone on the way to class, to play my music, to download movies and songs on my computer while I’m gone.
It didn’t help when I found out about Al Gore and his energy use. At first I tried sticking firmly to this belief: “It doesn’t matter who the messenger is. What matters is the importance of the message.” Couldn’t do it, though. I couldn’t get out of my mind that Al Gore, a man who traveled the world and spoke passionately about morals, has yet to take the important steps in his own 30-room mansion.
In truth, unless the government forces carbon regulations down our throats, takes political action against coal mines and energy deficient corporations or points a lawsuit at people driving SUVs, there is no stopping global warming.
Ours is a capitalist nation, and the divide between the rich and the poor will only get wider.
The poor cannot stop global warming. They don’t have the means to purchase energy-reducing light bulbs. They don’t have the credit to buy a brand new hybrid vehicle. They don’t even know how to begin installing solar panels.
Rich people are selfish. Cash is king and if you’ve got it, flaunt it. It isn’t important how much waste we are putting into the atmosphere–what’s important is girls squealing at Hummers with spinning hubcaps. What’s important is having a truck with 4,000-pound towing capacity so we can take the boat out twice a year. What’s important is keeping the thermostat at a steady 72 degrees in our 30-room mansions–just ask Al Gore.
I think I’ll stick with an eyes-closed mentality. Ignore the signs. Global warming can’t be proven, right? It’s a cycle, isn’t it? A thousand scientists must be wrong. Sure, we’ll kill a few polar bears, but with computer animation we can always make them smile and drink a Coke. Until I have to swim 60 miles to find something to float on, it’s really none of my business. Besides, can’t we just fly a huge mirror to the Arctic to reflect the sun’s rays and keep the ocean cool?
Seems like a much easier solution than giving a damn. Future generations can fly their jets to the Arctic mirrors and look closely at their indifferent reflections.
Dante was right. Our neutrality will condemn us all.
