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Our earth home needs a hand

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Editor,

This is not “world earth” we live on. We live on “planet earth.” This distinction speaks to the disconnect so many of us have with the realities and overall power the atmosphere surrounding our planet has upon life on earth.  

We tend to think, rather narrowly, of our earth home as a world made up of many nations and millions and millions of people all being subject to economic, political, social, and religious concerns with environmental concerns somewhere way down the list of importance. 

Hurricane Sandy is a huge wake-up call. Scientists have been telling us for years and years about global warming and its catastrophic effects upon earth and some of the things we can do to help save human life on earth as we know it.  

I have sat in many coffee sessions with my buddies on an extremely cold winter day and someone will say, “Yeah, let’s hear just one more speech on global warming so we can leap into action.” Then we all laugh and get on with some talk about politics, sports or our latest ache or pain. Sometimes we might talk about women, but only in the most endearing terms. But I digress. 

When you think about just one subject, carbon emissions, and consider the increase in population on earth, the emission-producing factories, the increase in cars and trucks, and the many ways we violate “clean air practices” daily and hourly, one really must pause and reflect on all this as tantamount to pounding another nail in our collective-way-of-life coffin.  

What can we do about it? For one thing, as members of the human race, we could scream to high heaven at our legislators and anyone who will listen about taking some action in passing legislation to help save our planet home. This can have a powerful ripple effect into global changes in the auto industry, fuel consumption, energy sources, clean air practices, and a whole change in attitude about what we humans just might be able to do to cooperate with our life-giving atmosphere rather than ignoring its clear and present signals. 

Bob McClellan

Polson

 

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