EDITORIAL A GREENER WORLD REDUCING ENERGY USE IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO EVEN IF GLOBAL WARMING IS A MYTH.THE report by scientists from around the world last week provided confirmation of what an increasing amount of Americans had already come to believe -- that global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. is real and it is almost certainly largely caused by humans. This report wasn't the work of one mad scientist communing with the grebes in the wild. This was a sober, evidence-backed assessment from an international network of hundreds of leading climate researchers and scientists that has been documenting climate change for years. Still, there are those who are suspicious of political motivations, and who raise objections to global warming's threat. And to those people we ask, does it even matter if global warming is myth or reality? The counter-measures for halting halt·ing adj. 1. Hesitant or wavering: a halting voice. 2. Imperfect; defective: halting verse. 3. Limping; lame. global warming -- using cleaner vehicles and driving less, reducing waste and consumption -- are ones that would do us all a bit of good, regardless of what you believe about climate change. For instance, who could honestly argue that reducing dependence on oil from the war-torn Middle East and making smart purchasing choices that result in cleaner air are bad things? We could all breathe easier, and oil money would stop flowing into some of our enemies' hands. Maybe some can't buy the argument that widespread use of fossil fuels fossil fuel: see energy, sources of; fuel. fossil fuel Any of a class of materials of biologic origin occurring within the Earth's crust that can be used as a source of energy. Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gas. is causing polar ice to melt, thus drowning drowning /drown·ing/ (droun´ing) suffocation and death resulting from filling of the lungs with water or other substance. drowning, n asphyxiation because of submersion in a liquid. polar bears polar bear, large white bear, Ursus maritimus, formerly Thalarctos maritimus, of the coasts of arctic North America. Polar bears usually live on drifting pack ice, but sometimes wander long distances inland. and causing seas to rise. But they must at least admit that without all that lovely revenue from oil production, terrorists would have a lot less money to spend buying bombs, training killers and blowing up civilians. Maybe some can't swallow the idea that people could possibly trash this enormous planet. We urge them to talk to residents of Granada Hills who live in the shadow of Sunshine Canyon Landfill and know we are at least trashing some of it. If they don't want to recycle re·cy·cle tr.v. re·cy·cled, re·cy·cling, re·cy·cles 1. To put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment. 2. To start a different cycle in. 3. a. for the planet, then do it for the people who live in neighborhoods that have fume-belching trash trucks rumbling through their streets every day. Is it even in dispute that telecommuting telecommuting, an arrangement by which people work at home using a computer and telephone, transmitting work material to a business office by means of a modem and telephone lines; it is also known as telework. means better quality of family life? And if it helps the environment, what's the loss? In the end, it doesn't matter if you believe in global warming. We all would benefit personally and collectively by making smarter choices about using natural resources. That's not just good for the environment, it's good for us. |
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