Description
Do we have to have a catastrophe before we react? Probably. But we can change the character of the U.S. government from one now focused on election cycles and campaign contributions and preserving the status quo to one that will create a sustainable society. If the Congress were accountable to the current and future citizens of America, rather than the corporations and wealthy who legally purchase undue influence, then the U.S. (and thus, the world) could move much more quickly to a renewable energy paradigm and away from Gulf-polluting, war-causing, climate-changing foreign oil.
Most experts believe the human species will only change petroleum behavior after a genuine catastrophe. The incremental, theoretical disaster doesn't intrude on our lives enough yet. That may be true, but I haven't given up hope that our leadership will act like adults on this issue, and turn us toward a sustainable future.
I believe the rate-limiting step in addressing climate change is getting the U.S. government to act. The rate limiting step in the government is the U.S. Senate (much more than the House), who are standing in the way of progress in the name of their corporate contributors. If all our federal elected officials were required to limit campaign contributions to $25, or accept only public financing, then control of the government and its accountability would pass over to the 'average Joe', the voter. (Our Australian friends also require every citizen to vote or pay a fine, which gets a much different crowd to the polling booths every election.) Can you think of a signficant social or environmental problem that doesn't ultimately come from the Congress' inablity to respond? Then Senators and Representatives would create legislation that was in the best interests of current and future generations of Americans.
Such a Congress would provide the same or better subsidies to the solar and wind power industries that they now give to the oil industry (enough solar power falls on the planet every hour to supply our needs for a year!). The new paradigm Congress would fund alternative transportation systems - sidewalks, bike trails, light and long-distance rail - that would reduce our need for foreign oil. Neighborhoods could become ambulatory again, so neighbors would know each other, lose weight, get less diabetes, spend less on health care, and live longer.
Once America starts moving in the right direction, others will follow. If we go first, we can lead them and sell them the technology/hardware/innovations and "keep the economy humming" (as the Exxon ad says). Then we can focus on future key issues, like helping China clean up its water supply, helping Africa and Brazil keep their forests, produce a safe breeder reactor system, create micro-organisms that digest plastic, and live in peace with each other.
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