Over the years, I have taken action on preserving the environment in a host of ways. Decades have passed; some things have improved. However, America has done next to nothing to stop the biggest threat of them all—global warming. We’ve all heard NASA scientists tell us that the earth is warming, and the process is accelerating—faster than the best models predicted just a couple of years ago. It’s coming at us like a freight train and we are tied to the railroad tracks by our lifestyles. Yet when it comes to taking action, people seem to blank out, look the other way, and whistle.
Now I am deep in middle age, enjoying my comfort. I groaned when I heard of the opportunity that exists for me to take a stand—and endure discomfort—in the style of those distant younger years. In March people from across the nation are going to Washington in their best business clothes to peacefully block the entrance to the coal-fired electricity plant that powers Congress. My husband and I are going, too. (For more information visit www.capitolclimateaction.com.)
Coal industry people seek to lull us into thinking that coal is a viable energy source. It’s understandable—we all want to preserve our jobs, and there is plenty of the black stuff. Coal, though, is public enemy number one when it comes to our future, even our present. It warms the world like no other energy source. When Al Gore said last year, “I can’t understand why there aren’t rings of young people blocking bulldozers and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants,” he wasn’t just whistling Dixie. He was saying the situation is urgent.
In the spirit of love that I often feel at church on Sunday, I am going to Washington. The situation is urgent. The more bodies that show up, the more the point can be driven home and we can begin to literally save the world. As I heave myself up from my easy chair to make that trip, I find myself growing more comfortable with what I am going to do. That’s a comfort I can live with.
Josie Carothers
Depot Road
