Why Global Warming doesn't matter

While climate change may not be the topic du jour of the presidential campaign this time around, global warming is still something that gets regularly bandied about, both in political circles as well as in the media. It has become one of those topics that is nearly verboten in "civilized conversation", along with religion and politics. Why? Because it is almost certain to spark heated debate among the participants. Need proof? Head to the nearest online news outlet, preferably one that allows reader comments to be posted online. Find a recent article that brings up the subject of global warming, or climate change. The content of the article is not important. Almost without fail, these comments will include angry, biting remarks from one side attacking the other. There will be the "vast left wing conspiracy" theorists who insist that global warming is a front, a tool which will lead to "global carbon taxes" and serve as a stepping stool for the New World Order. There will be the "vast right wing conspiracy" theorists who will scream that the government is censoring information on behalf of their true masters, the evil mega-multi-international corporations who would happily bathe their own children in toxic waste if it would save them a buck. Those on both sides, as well as all in between, will point to one government study or another, this scientific research or that, in order to prove their point: Global Warming exists. It's caused by natural cycles. It's all our fault. Global Warming is a myth. The ice caps are melting. The ice caps are growing. We're doomed.

Pick a side, pick a stance. In the immense repository of information that is the Internet, one can find some kind of proof, an article, a blog entry, something to back up their claim, another voice with which to justify their point.

My point is more simple. I am unconcerned with discovering whether or not global warming exists. I do not care whether it is caused by sunspots, power plants, oceanic cycles or motorized cycles. Which side of the debate is correct is unimportant to me, because of one simple fact: global warming does not matter.

This statement may immediately call in to question the sanity of the one making it, namely myself. One may ask, how could global warming possibly be anything but important? If the people telling the world that global warming is real are right, then we are facing dire consequences. If global warming is real and it is happening, the ice caps will slowly melt, sea levels will slowly rise. The consequences of this are unpredictable. Changes in weather patterns will bring torrential rain and devastating floods to some areas. Lush and fertile lands may become barren deserts. Powerful hurricanes may become the norm. Famine and unprecedented disaster could be the fruits of global warming. Even if all this is hyperbole, the changes it will cause in our weather, in our planet, will be large and unpredictable.

This is all true, but it doesn't matter.

What if the other side is true? What if global warming is nothing but a sham, invented by paranoid scientists and politicians-cum-filmmakers seeking fame and attention? What if the changes we are witnessing are truly nothing more than solar flares acting upon our defenselss planet? What if they are caused by natural cycles that are far beyond our control? This completely absolves us, the human race, of responsibility for global warming.

So what?

If it turns out that we are indeed innocent of inflicting global warming upon our planet, does this also absolve us of the responsibility to take care of our home? If global warming is a farce, does this mean that we, as a society, now have the ability to release whatsoever pollutants into the air without feeling a bit of remorse over our actions? If global warming is nothing but a myth, do we now have carte blanche permission to dump waste into the oceans, cut down forests at record rates, and pillage the earth's natural resources without regard to tomorrow? I challenge anyone to answer yes to any of these questions in good faith.

Here's a little experiment to try. With the exception of those few who live in the more pristine rural areas of the world, it should be applicable regardless of where you live.

Go outside. Take a walk, and not just around the block. Keep your eyes to the ground, and keep track of what you see. Keep track of how long you have to walk before you come across some piece of litter. If you run across a puddle, take a good look at it. Would you take a drink? Now try to get up someplace high. Climb up a hill, go on the roof, find a tall building with windows you can peer out of. Barring that, at least find some place where you can look off to the horizon. See how the sky changes from blue to gray to a hazy white, or if you're really unlucky, a dingy brown? Is this something you really enjoy breathing?

Global warming is not responsible for litter on the ground. It is not responsible for dirty pools of water. It is not responsible for pollution in the air.

We are.

An idyllic world where one can quaff from roadside pools of water with abandon is, admittedly, beyond any semblance of realism, but our responsibility for this earth and our enviroment remains. Global warming does not matter because it is unimportant who is right. Whether or not global warming is a real threat to our planet, irresponsibility will always be a threat. It should not matter whether that power plant down the way is warming up our globe, it is most certainly spewing out poisons in to our air. Even if global warming is the biggest hoax ever perpetuated on the public, our resolve to seek cleaner, more efficient, and more earth-friendly approaches to our energy needs should not waver.

After all, the thermometer isn't really what's at stake. It's our air, our water, our children, our future.