Toni Vernelli of Somerset, England, had herself sterilized to reduce her carbon footprint. (There is no truth to the rumor that her aborted fetus would have been the one who invented technology which allowed SUV’s to be powered by saltwater.)
Father Earth, Al Gore, in Norway to receive his Nobel Peace Prize, displayed his willingness to sacrifice by taking an airport shuttle instead of a limousine to travel to Oslo’s city centre.
Even America’s imperialist armed forces are marching in step with environmentalists, with green becoming the “in” color throughout the military.
Morally righteous people around the world are holding demonstrations to highlight the dangers of global warming—from costume parades in the Philippines, to fire-eaters blowing clouds of flames at a rally in Athens, to marches in Taiwan, to a Climate Rescue Carnival in New Zealand. Even Helsinki, Finland has joined in, with fifty skiers dragging their skis along asphalt, calling for decision makers to give them their snowy winters back. A good time was had by all.
So many dedicated eco-warriors, so little time.
Meanwhile, in the world outside the air-conditioned conference rooms, where our unchosen representatives dedicate themselves to imposing their version of the world on the rest of us, reality reared its ugly head.
Record breaking snowfall hit portions of the United States. Portland, Maine had 8.5 inches of snow on Monday, tying the record set way back in 1890. Grand Forks airport had 8.1 inches of snow on Tuesday, setting a new record for the date. Fargo, North Dakota also set a record, with 5.9 inches of snow. And up north in Canada, “It’s freezing. It’s snowing. And winter is officially still two weeks away!” Canada’s king of climatology, David Phillips, forecasts global warming will be “taking a vacation in this winter.”
As the conference in Bali struggled on, courageously undeterred by reality, several proposals were bandied about. Developing nations demanded rapid transfers of technology to help them combat climate change. (Can you spell ‘free lunch’?) A majority of countries, a consensus, demanded the U.S. take the lead in imposing mandatory cutbacks on emissions. That way, China and Asia might learn from the U.S.’s good example and decide, maybe, to follow. And the beat goes on, and on, and on …
