| I hate it when my talk about climate change gets me tagged an environmentalist -- it shows me people don't understand the threats we face. Climate change is a big problem for humans, not just a problem for beautiful wild places or a certain few species. I'm not so worried about some of the "nice to haves" but am seriously concerned about the "have to haves." I don't think you have to be to be an environmentalist to agree people need these.
|  Climate Change Could Threaten US Security, NBC News, April 24, 2014 |
| Climate change is on a whole different scale than any "environmental" problem that came before it. In the past, if we humans destroyed one locale, there were other safer, more enjoyable places we could go instead. Some people have gotten away with not caring too much about, say, toxic chemicals being discharged into a lake -- as long as it wasn't the lake where they took their own kids fishing. Its different this time. Because carbon pollution covers the entire world, its not just somebody else's problem. There is no safe haven & we don't have a way of cleaning up the spill. Maybe you would never think of yourself as an environmentalist. Even if you hate the outdoors & would love nothing more than to spend the rest of your days inside a temperature-controlled mall, climate change is still your problem -- as long as you want food, water & relatively safe place to hang your hat. |
