A Picture Truly Is Worth A Thousand Words

  (By Sasha Abelson, Guest Blogger to the Climate Program)

Photo by Ira Meyer - http://irameyer.com/

The original subject for this blog was going to be a commentary on how the White House allegedly pressured the head of the EPA, Stephen Johnson, to reject California's request to implement stricter emission control laws.  Johnson defended himself stating the decision was "mine and mine alone".[1]  Now a group of democratic senators are calling for a perjury investigation into Johnson's comments.

I found this story shocking on several levels.  Firstly, the head of the EPA may have let his integrity be compromised by pressure from the executive office, and secondly, the President's (alleged) preference for a single emissions standard trumped the state's attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (remember global warming?).

I began writing and was in midsentence when yesterday the above photo was presented to our office.  I stopped writing.   

The image of the two bears balancing precariously on a small piece of ice reminded me what all of this work is really about.  It is easy to get bogged down by the politics, red tape, legal issues, difficulties associated with implementing cleaner/greener technologies, pros and cons of a cap and trade system, etc.

The image of those bears serves as a powerful reminder of what we stand to lose if we do not aggressively deal with the global warming issue NOW.  Many scientists agree that for the first time in human history, ice may disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.[2]  I realize climate change is a monumental global issue without a simple, neat solution; however, that photo also makes me realize the consequences of our inaction.

[1] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93057237&ft=1&f=3

[2] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080620-north-pole.html