This is my life

When the endless suburbs fade out, I salute the illusion of the wild, the green and rotten smells of the slough, the white cranes, the blue herons; and further ahead, the crashing of the waves, and my daily destination. That's where she sat every sunny day, on the deck of her double-wide, facing south. She had white hair and perhaps more memories than expectations, bundled in jackets and covers but on the warmest summer mornings. Pedaling by I saluted, and she rarely responded, dozing in the warm light of other times and places.

This past winter was a long and protracted affair, uncomfortably cold and too often subject to the caprices of errant rainclouds. But I pedaled through, almost every day. This morning a fierce breeze ripped through the veil of gray to reveal spring as a naked infant with a gratifying sunny smile. Like every other day I went by, but she was no longer there. A pile of old clothes, bedsheets, a mosaic of colors covered the deck, the door to the inside of the trailer open, for the very first time, on the darkness inside.

Just ahead a turkey vulture was perched on top of one of the light poles, its wings open wide to offer its prayer and salute the return of the sun, and cleansing itself after a satisfying meal. I imitated him, spreading my wings, letting my bicycle take me along a road it knows too well.

Climate change denial

The following is a typical moderate denialist claim of the kind so abundant on blog-powered instant pundits around the world:

Whether or not you believe in the theory of man-made global warming, if you do any research into our current understanding of climate behaviour, it's quite evident that things are a lot more complex than you might think from the simplistic notions of climate change currently popular in the media.

So, it's quite refreshing to hear that Northern Ireland's environment minister is not afraid to voice an opinion that differs from the popular notions.

Hopefully, he'll get support for having the courage to argue that the economically expensive proposals that are being proposed by one side should be considered carefully. I feel that issues that involve as much money as this, should be properly debated, especially considering the current state of the global economy.
And to properly debate something like this, you need to encourage a non-partisan approach.
Unfortunately, his view seems to be highly un-PC at the moment, so probably the partisan approach will continue. :( (thank you Ronan!)

To which I reply:

We can’t but applaud small state initiatives challenging establishment’s paradigms. Another great example is the Kansas School Board (http://tinyurl.com/8w87z). Whether or not you believe in the theory of evolution, if you do any research into our current understanding of Darwinian theories, it's quite evident that things are a lot more complex than you might think from the simplistic notions of primate ancestry currently popular in the media. So, it was quite refreshing to hear that the Kansas School Board was not afraid to voice an opinion that differed from the popular notions.
Unfortunately, this view seems to be highly un-PC at the moment, so probably the partisan approach will continue. :(

I love conspiracy theories as much as the next guy (actually probably more) but the Global Warming conspiracy is as hard to swallow as Capricorn One. As in similar cases, screams of conspiracy are accompanied by dubious science (Erik Von Daniken for evolution, a Crichton novel for global warming, and who could forget the "smoking is good for you cigarette-shaped package) purporting the claims of unexplainable accord among intellectuals that would have more to gain from the celebrity granted by successful dissent.

A probably a stronger case could be made that dissent is fueled by media "debunking" stories, and it plays very well in the direction of the business elites and government officials who merely care about short term returns: they have A LOT to gain, while these cruel politically correct scientists have very little.

If they wanted to make money they'd probably be better off enrolling in enemy's camp, appear on TV or write a novel where other bad scientists are causing tsnunamis, it seems to work better than NSF these days, at least on these shores.

The belief in a counterconspiracy is widely supported, by the way, and smart people like Bush espoused the denialist camp until it did not matter anymore for his administration.

BUT EVEN IF the scientists were all inexplicably wrong, the changes required to reduce our carbon footprint are inevitable. Our resources are limited, our standards of living unsustainable, our economy broken and on the brink of collapse. All this vis-a-vis the continuing growth of world population and access of larger slices of them to mass-consumption.

Change is inevitable: if it won't be by... intelligent design, it will happen by the brute force of the numbers.