Our back alleys are windows into our relationship with the Earth and each other. You have all the elements of what people talk and think about with regard to climate change, energy, and sustainability. Overhead power, telephone or cable lines, underground water, sewer, gas and maybe fiber optic lines, trash and debris in or out of receptacles, maintained or unmaintained roads, flora that grows close to the ground without human intervention and usually human planted trees that overhang it all.

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And the never ending fences and howl of dogs that remind us that we sometimes just barely tolerate each other.

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I have thousands of Facebook posts and Twitter tweets about climate change, energy infrastructure and related issues from the last six years.  It's not difficult to see that it has played a major part in my thinking, not only the last six years, but really the last 15-20 years.

 

For me, it really boils down to the saying,

 

We all die at some point, what else is there than to try and make the World a better place than how we found it?

 

For at least the last 30 years, almost all climate scientists have been in near unanimity that we are failing in spectacular fashion in keeping the Earth's climate stable compared to how it has been over human history. I wasn't always completely convinced. Even after I had changed my life in many ways to try to live with lower emissions, I was thinking ten years or so ago that...maybe...maybe...there was a 'pause' (as Ted Cruz continuously would go on about). Turns out Ted and I were wrong, and the climate scientists were right. Their models have been very good in almost every way. If anything, there have sometimes been underestimates.

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I think most people, regardless of what they may say around certain people,  alone with their own thoughts know that the majority of climate scientists aren't in on a massive conspiracy. Most surveys agree. Studies also show that even here in West Texas, most people believe humans are causing climate change and want the government to do something about it. The loudest voices on TV and radio like to mock or demonize ideas like the Green New Deal or whatever to boost ratings, but the vast majority of people would love for this to be in the past someday. Unfortunately, like termites eating at your house that go untreated, the problem persists and gets worse.

 

Feel free to argue with me on Facebook or Twitter or call me up and tell me to go to hell. I don't think I have any alternatives at this point in my life other than to give a shit from here on out. If that means endless arguments, begging, guilt tripping, or whatever... so be it. There's a good chance I hate all this more than you do, but neither one of us hates it as much as the people that are dying and will die from our actions or inaction. I would love to go back to ignoring you and you probably feel the same way about me, but it doesn't happen by magic, and you can't wish it away.

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The video on the right was a response to the Democratic National Committee thinking of penalizing candidates for having their own climate debate in 2019.​​

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