Earth Day Rant

I’m smoking a cigar right now, a Bolivar to be exact. Cigars are wonderfully therapeutic but murder on the physiology. So as I poison myself with one of my favorite vices, the other being alcohol, I begin my Earth Day rant. Why do we insist on feigning ignorance in the face of the blatantly obvious? An earthquake here, a tsunami there, a catastrophic hurricane down yonder and God knows what else. We’ve gone from Global Warming to Global Dimming and while the scientists warn of an inevitable point of no return the politicians offer half hearted proposals and possible plans for change. I am a bit concerned you see because the majority of us are moving ahead with a casual, business as usual, state of mind. It’s almost like we have a fiftiesesque view of the future where soon humanity will be able to go to colonies in space to escape the planet we are killing. The unfortunate truth is that there is no Lunar Base Alpha or Space Station Bravo. When the planet is unlivable we’ll be faced with a vast Check Point Charlie through which there won’t be any escape to a better life or a brighter future. There are hybrid cars but we drive SUVs. Solar power is feasible but there’s talk about more nuclear power plants. We could use less but just use more knowing good and well that soon enough there will be none. Our house is burning down and we are trying not to notice while concurrently hoping someone, anyone, extinguishes the flames. I’m not standing on a soap box yelling in a vitriolic tone. I’m standing with everyone else acting like everything is ok because the worst part of my rant is that it amounts to hypocrisy. I spent this Earth Day driving my big American car with a tank half full of petrol I bought at over three bucks a gallon.