George Bush has decided not to go to the world environmental conference in Rio de Janeiro in June. The meeting is supposed to mark the formal beginning of an unprecedented international effort to deal with the world’s major environmental problems, and many heads of state will be there.
The biggest point of contention between the U.S. and the rest of the human race is global warming. If the dire predictions related to the greenhouse effect are close to the truth, coastal cities will soon disappear beneath the seas and we midwestern birdwatchers will be adding cactus wrens and roadrunners to our Chicago-area lists.
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What if we were to bet the other way, to wager that the greenhouse effect is real? The benefits are incalculable–not eternal bliss, but at least the possibility of a decent life for our children. But, George might counter, we could be throwing vast amounts of money, money that could be used to build schools or bomb Libya, at a chimera. How strong is George’s argument? Would all the money it would take to counter the greenhouse effect be wasted if the greenhouse effect is not real? I don’t think so.
We can also help ourselves by finding better ways to deal with our garbage than putting it in landfills, since anaerobic decomposition in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas. We might also eat less beef, since cow farts (at this point you are allowed one short giggle) are another noticeable methane source. But if we do the big three, we can avoid the miseries the greenhouse effect will bring.
