Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1.  Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. Entry #430 was the most recent “sense check.”

START ENTRY #437: For the past two years I’ve been involved with a group of fellow MIT alumni trying to develop practical, non-partisan solutions to climate change. The group, which includes a broad base of educational backgrounds and work experiences, has developed a roadmap of solutions.

The idea of a roadmap is not unique to the group. Others have developed a roadmap as well, suggesting solutions similar to ours.  However, I think we’re providing more specificity about how to implement the recommendations.

While I can’t speak for the other groups, I can state we believe that the biggest barrier to addressing climate change is not the technology. Existing technology can be used to make huge strides toward reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

The biggest barrier is “political will.”   Just to be clear, my definition of political will assumes “moral, ethical behavior,” “counting country before self” and “courage to do the right thing, even if you don’t benefit personally.”

The adjective “political” applies to more than office holders. The term “political” applies to people who vote for perspective office holders.

We, societal we, elect the people to represent us and to make decisions for us. Voting for a candidate of a particular party, especially one with a track record of no political will on key issues is being irresponsible as a citizen.

I would liken it to handing over the keys of your car to someone whom you know is grossly inebriated. Then, you jumping in the passenger seat and not buckling your seatbelt. How much more irresponsible do you want to be?  Yet, putting your life in the hands of a drunk driver is what we, again societal we, are doing with respect to addressing climate change.

In Congress all Republican and a couple of Democrats refuse to support legislation to address climate change. Why?  Are money and power so important they are willing to create economic and social calamity for your children or grandchildren?

Apparently so because some Senators gets their panties in a wad over a few social programs rather than addressing causes of climate change and putting the population at great risk.

The idea that climate change programs are “too expensive” is pure, unadulterated BS. In case Republican senators didn’t know, the Federal Reserve controls the money supply.  And, despite claims by Republicans to the contrary, the US government has considerable assets backing up the issuance of money.  Assets as in land, buildings, highways, etc.

Hard assets are not the case for all currencies in the US.  Maybe the senators don’t realize that companies issuing stock is the same as creating currency and many of these companies have virtually no assets.  Even worse is cryptocurrency, which is based on a computer program and has zero assets supporting it.

If you don’t think climate change is a threat, then you need to wake up.  What is happening to weather now and labeled by Fox as a “1-in-a-100 years” event is going to intensify for the next 75+ years.  Today, there is an ice sheet in Antarctica that’s roughly the same size as Florida.  (Numerous articles.) 

The sheet has split from the base and climatologist estimate the sheet could separate completely in the next five years or so.  There’s enough ice that when it melts, the ocean levels are expected to rise by 2 feet.

If you don’t think 2 feet is a lot of water, then go to Florida, the North Carolina barrier islands, New Jersey, New York, any place on the coast and measure how much farther inland 2 feet of water will carry at high tide with a full moon. Then add 2 feet of water to any surge associated with a hurricane or major storm.  Now start counting the number of cities that will have serious floods flooding problems and may become uninhabitable.

So why then do we keep supporting members of Congress who put self before country and money before the welfare of your kids or grandkids? If you’ve got an answer, please let me know. END: #437

Other Topics. Interested in more info about climate change, what’s required to electrify a fleet of cars/trucks, what it was like to work day-to-day with Lee Iacocca and an array of other topics? Visit another page of this website, https://usrevolution5.com/jrd-thought-comments/