Wednesday, May 15, 2019

A GREEN NEW APPLE?

When that apple fell on Sir Isaac Newton's head after he presumably said ouch he asked, "Why?"
WHY!
It's a uniquely human thing to do.
When we lose the drive to ask why something happened we also lose the ability to fix it if it's bad or replicate it if good.
WHY?
What caused that apple to fall?
The 'whys' are usually followed by theories, investigations, conclusions and verifications.
This process has no agenda other than finding the cause and effect and getting at the truth.
It is not political, it's science.
And the people who ploy their talents in that field are called scientists.
Scientists DO have an agenda, getting at the truth!
Sir Isaac finally concluded that the Earth had an inherent property that pulled the apple downward.
Gravity!
Gravity caused the apple to fall and gravity keeps us from flying off into space when we jump.
Did the world immediately give Sir Newton the keys to the kingdom.
Of course not.
Many ridiculed him but in the end his shoulders were the platform upon which other scientists stood to reach higher.

That was then but now is now.
Now we have many problems facing us and one of them is causing disasters across the planet.
Storms!
What causes storms to be strong and get stronger and more frequent?
WHY?
Storms are caused by many factors but their strength increases when they form or travel over oceans.
And simply put, the warmer the water the stronger the storm.
What is causing the waters to be warmer now than they ever were in recorded history?
WHY?
There are many factors that are out of our control.
But we may be able to control some. And if so we owe it to ourselves to find ways to reverse the pattern.
It could be hard and take a long time but if we roll up our sleeves and get to work on that which we can control we can slow down the process perhaps long enough for us to find a permanent cure.
But no problem ever got fixed by doing nothing.

Some of our political leaders are talking about a "Green New Deal."
Is this the solution?
Perhaps yes, perhaps no.
BUT IT'S A START!
Are the proponents of this 'new deal' being ridiculed?
Of course they are.
The reasons for the ridicule include honest skepticism from some and dishonest greed upon the part of the industries that like the status quo.
Their bottom lines will be affected by changes suggested therein.
But even that can be worked out to everyone's satisfaction if we work together intelligently, using science and facts.
Gravity is real, and so is climate change and global warming.
And it doesn't take a sledge hammer to prove it when a simple apple can do the job.