CO-04 (Special Election)
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(R) Greg Lopez
(R) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Joe Biden*
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%↓
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
90%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
90%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
(R) Ron Hanks
40%
30%
20%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(R) Deborah Flora
(R) J. Sonnenberg
30%↑
15%↑
10%↓
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Dave Williams
(R) Jeff Crank
50%↓
50%↑
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
90%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) Brittany Pettersen
85%↑
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
(R) Janak Joshi
60%↑
35%↓
30%↑
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
November 06, 2009 01:49 AM UTC
4 Comments
Dost thou not know that science books are the forked tongues of the devil! O! What villainy there be in our midsts, and that so many of our countrymen should be trickst by it.
Climatology is a science, not a belief system. The question really isn’t whether or not people “believe” the facts; the numbers are the result of measurements. Even if 99% of Americans didn’t “believe” in global warming, that would not affect the facts of climate change.
Climate change has morphed into a clear and present danger, largely because further studies have indicated a much shorter time-scale for serious consequences. IF a majority of people didn’t believe that the Estes Park whatever-center was burning–or would soon be destroyed by the fire that was visible–does that mean that firemen shouldn’t respond? Of course not, and the same is true of climate change.
Serious action on the scale of World War II needs to be undertaken, and in the same time-frame–NOW. (“Now” is defined as Friday, November 6, 2009.) If Irrationalists complain, so be it; that must not be a cause for inaction. If business interests complain, so be it. That, too, must not be a cause for inaction.
In the case of climate change, “inaction” is in fact “action” of a different sort–driving your Hummer to work every day isn’t inaction; it’s contributing to global warming (as well as national insecurity, but that’s a closely related but different issue).
IF we continue to allow ourselves to be guided, or thwarted, by ignorance and irrationality, we are doomed as a society, possibly even as a species.
I agree with you nearly 100% on this, JO. However, the importance of what Americans claim to “believe” is that this is what stirs our Representatives and Senators to (finally) take serious and dramatic action. (OK, I’m naive.)
Unfortunately, those with a stake in the status quo have more influence than those of us who look beyond the next quarterly report. Their ability to stir up confusion has been quite successful. Even otherwise rational people think we need more “study.”
We cannot depend on bipartisan agreement among legislators from states ranging from MA to OK to implement effective solutions, especially on a national level. A necessary first step, I suggest, is small-scale experiments on the local level. Per my list of practical short-term suggestions posted elsewhere in this maze of discussions, individuals can organize car pools among fellow workers or neighbors. Individuals can request employers to adopt a voluntary 4-day workweek with extended hours or to agree to telecommuting for some number of days. Even one day a week could achieve a 20% commuting-fuel savings for affected individuals and set a precedent to cite for government policy on a wider scale. Department managers can insist on videoconferencing for sales pitches. Companies in buildings near mass transit can eliminate parking spaces and/or reimburse employees for transit passes. Towns can redraw traffic lines to incorporate bike lanes (many towns already have done so), or designate streets parallel to main drags as bike routes. In most cases, building codes are local and can be changed with a view towards a green future, including mandatory insulation for this winter. In most cases, no legislation is required, and this is where we should start. What’s needed is an attitude of can-do activism by individuals, not a passive insistence on awaiting legislation that may be very slow in coming.
AND, I suggest, it’s necessary at this stage simply to ignore the doubters. Reality is overtaking us; calls for “more study” are calls for inaction.
I think the key here is (a) questioning out loud how things are done now; (b) suggesting change to people who may not be thinking along these lines; and (c) adopting new policies as experiments without necessarily requiring a commitment to permanent change. Not everyone is going to change simultaneously, or agree to be a pioneer; but eventually individual examples have a way of catching on.
And, of course, there’s nothing more effective than ranting and raving on blogs, is there?