LIFE IN A FLYOVER STATE: Even if there isn't climate change or global warming . . .

Friday, December 17, 2010

Even if there isn't climate change or global warming . . .

What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? (Henry David Thoreau)

Short post today. Just this: even if Inhofe and all the other naysayers are right (which they aren't), but let's pretend - even if they are and there is no climate change/global warming, wouldn't it be better for the world, especially the United States of America, if we all lived as if there were climate change/global warming?

What is the harm of converting automobiles to cleaner fuel? What is the harm of walking or bicycling more? What is the harm of taking public transportation? What is the harm of reducing factory emissions? What is the harm of cleaner water? What is the harm of discovering alternative ways to heat our homes?

What is the harm of living as if there really is global warming/climate change? (And there is climate change/global warming.)

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We can see the beautiful Wichita Mountains from our front yard. People make fun of the fact that we call them mountains, but they are one of the oldest ranges in the United States. The Wichitas are just lying on their collective side. Frankly, I would be lying down also if I were over 500 million years old. Time wears us all down eventually. Even granite!

There’s a lake one mile to the west of us, but it is best viewed from a distance. It is still the ugliest lake I’ve ever seen and though I am fond of this area, my opinion about that lake has not changed over the years.

When we moved here 30 years ago, there were not the neighborhoods just to the south of us that there are now. Our neighbor to the north -- and that neighbor is one-half mile away -- runs cattle on her pasture. The pasture across the road from us is owned by the school district. That land is rented out for farming and grazing. Deer still surprise us and an occasional bobcat or coyote grabs a chicken from our coop. Our Suffolk sheep walk up to our dining room windows and peer in every once in awhile, baaing.

There is a military post on the other side of the Wichitas. If we go out at certain times of the day, we can see rockets streaking across the sky. Also, we will hear booming cannons firing on the practice ranges. It’s especially loud in the winter time when the humidity is low and troops are training on the east range. Once five Chinook helicopters hauling Army tanks flew low over our pasture. The post is the only fort built during the Indian Wars that is still active today. It was staked out on January 8, 1869. Its history is a rich one.

We can walk the same stretch of road everyday of every year and always see something different. We have to pay attention some days to see the changes, but we have the time.