Now

Published: October 15, 2021

By Jim Lichtman
Image
Read More

What is actor, William Shatner looking at?

“This covering of blue is this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue around that we have around us.”

That’s how Shatner described the earth’s atmosphere after a 10-minute flight aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard space capsule.

What I would love to do is to communicate as much as possible is the jeopardy. The moment you see the vulnerability of everything; it’s so small. This air, which is keeping us alive, is thinner than your skin. It’s a sliver; it’s immeasurably small when you think in terms of the universe.”

Of course, Shatner is expressing what climate scientists have been warning about for decades; that climate change is real; that the “blanket” covering the earth is slowly being ripped apart.

He’s reminding us that we cannot afford to wait. We are accountable. We are responsible. We have to make lifestyle choices, now. We have the technology to do so, but not enough the will.

“Earth is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past a level of warming that world leaders have sought to prevent, according to a report released Monday that the United Nations called a ‘code red for humanity.’

“‘It’s just guaranteed that it’s going to get worse,’ said report co-author Linda Mearns, a senior climate scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. ‘Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.’

“The authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which calls climate change clearly human-caused and ‘unequivocal’ and makes more precise and warmer forecasts for the 21st century than it did last time it was issued in 2013,” the AP reports.

“More than 100 countries have made informal pledges to achieve ‘net zero’ human-caused carbon dioxide emissions sometime around mid-century, which will be a key part of the negotiations in Scotland. The report said those commitments are essential. . ..

“‘This report tells us that recent changes in the climate are widespread, rapid and intensifying, unprecedented in thousands of years,’ said IPCC Vice Chair Ko Barrett, senior climate adviser for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“It is still possible to forestall many of the most dire impacts,” he added.”

This is the most critical decision standing before the world: change now or lose what we have, what we need, forever.

Or as Captain Kirk would say, “Scotty, I need warp power in three minutes or we’re all dead!”

Comments

Leave a Comment



Read More Articles
The Latest... And Sometimes Greatest
Fear Is the Enemy Within, Not Each Other
Fed by misinformation and half-truths, fear pushes us to distrust others, retreat into ourselves, see threats where there are none. Fear convinces us the world...
October 16, 2024
When Was the Last Time Something Like This Happened in U.S. History?
In a public letter, 111 former top Republican officials have put aside party loyalty for the sake of national security and the future of our...
October 15, 2024
Is Truth Dead?
In the political landscape crafted by Donald Trump, “Truth is dead.” Trump’s domination of fear and panic squarely aimed at his supporters has not only...
October 14, 2024
Right v. Wrong
Here are some of the most recognizable figures who have worked with or opposed Donald Trump. Their quotes provide a firsthand look into why prominent...
October 11, 2024
Loyalty’s Reckoning
On Christmas Eve, 1974, John Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, was sitting in Fort Holabird prison in Baltimore, Maryland, talking to a Mafia...
October 10, 2024
Trump/Nixon
Imagine if Watergate had been more than just a scandal. Imagine if Nixon got away with it. I don’t mean no one finds out; I...
October 8, 2024