No need to honk.

Ok. When asked about climate change and if it is man-made this is my response: partially. We are definitely causing more CO2 to be spewed into the air and we have been ever since the industrial revolution. Does it cause climate change? Probably, but we have been shown also that the climate of the earth has always cycled through high and low points throughout history.  Either way, most scientists that are much smarter than I am agree that it has an effect so why not do something about it? I forget who said it but I heard the quote “But what if you’re wrong and we make the earth a better place to live for nothing?” I thought this summed it up nicely. The point is that no one has a definite answer but it’s still a good idea to be proactive about it. The media tends to lean to the left on this issue and therefore has caused a bit of panic over the whole issue which is a bit overblown in my opinion. Alternative energy, personal responsibility, strict regulations on pollution, and other measures are still good ideas for many other reasons so if panic is the only way to promote change, I guess it's not so bad. The whole personal responsibility concept is a tough one though because it is easy to make companies comply but when it comes down to the individual it gets tricky. I am reminded of a joke by Jerry Seinfeld that goes like this: A bunch of cars are waiting to turn at a light. The signal turns green and the first car doesn’t move because they are not paying attention. Meanwhile, the person in the second car doesn’t honk because they know they will get through no matter what. The guy in the third car thinks the same way and the person in the fourth car is pissed but too far back for the first car to hear him honk. The first driver finally wakes up and the first three cars go through while the fourth gets caught at the red light. In this story our parents are the first car, we are the second so we don’t do anything because we won’t be affected, and neither will our children. Meanwhile, our children’s children may be left to deal with our mess. Like many people I will probably not be motivated since it doesn’t directly affect me and although I know it is a problem, I am not convinced it is of the magnitude that the media portrays it to be. But just in case I will not have children. Problem solved!