To the editor:
Les Blevins' Feb. 27 letter concerning Human Induced Global Warming (HIGW) was right on, but I wonder how many people are paying attention. It seems unbelievable that we humans would knowingly destroy the only known life-supporting planet in the universe. The beauty and wonder of the diversity of life on Earth is apparently taken for granted by the majority of Americans. If it weren't, we'd be up in arms by what has obviously taken place.
We are so numbed by our affluence we can't see the consequences global warming will have on our children and grandchildren. What we need is an enlightened leader who is willing to tell us the painful truth: Our consumption and standard of living is simply unsustainable on a planet with finite resources and an ever-increasing population. Instead we end up with the "needs more study" mantra that Republicans and conservatives have been chanting for years.
Rather than invest the budget surplus in alternative energy/conservation research, our current administration prefers squandering the money on the rich. The increase in consumption spurred by the tax cut will only add to the problem more trees cut down, more cars on the road, more greenhouse gases, etc.
Which is the greater crime, Clinton's removal of a sofa or Reagan's removal of Carter-installed solar collectors from the White House and the message sent to us, the consumers and planet-warmers? What makes more sense, to give back the top 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans' $640 billion in obviously unneeded tax cuts, or to use that money to fund a planet-saving project along the lines of the Marshall Plan after WWII or Kennedy's mission to the moon?
I am so tired of spoiled, ungrateful Americans whining about taxes. We are not overtaxed. We live like kings and queens compared to most people on the planet and still we complain. While millions go to bed every night cold and hungry, our biggest problem is choosing what to buy from a mind-numbing array of cereals or sodas or (fill in the blank).
Why fight it; let's just turn on the TV and let future generations fend for themselves with the results of our excesses. We can bask in our own self-indulgence and narcissism and let Rome burn. Play on Nero.
Kelvin Schartz,
Lawrence
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