Leap of Faith Environmentalist

To ensure my middle of the road bona fides, I have declared myself a Kierkegaard “Leap of Faith” Environmentalist.

And to ensure my professors at Providence College, like Paul Seaver, still understand how much my Western Civ classes meant to me, I shall explain.

Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who is attributed to the term leap of faith. Ironically, he never said leap of faith but leap to faith.

In short, what he was saying was don’t just sit there and think, do something. Take a leap. Make a stand.

And that’s what I am doing here as the Paris Climate Talks are underway.

I believe we, as a planet, need to take a leap of faith about what is happening to the planet may – just maybe – has something to do with what we humans doing here. And of course, don’t forget to blame cow farts.

Do I know this as fact? No. But neither do the people who say emphatically that they know human activity is doing nothing to the greenhouse gases and other environmental problems.

Still, I am in favor of us, as a world, taking action; being proactive and not realizing we could have been wrong as we take that last breath of smog before we drown in what used to be our homes.

Here’s my reasoning:

First there is a large amount of scientists who say that we are definitely causing the problems. I live in a democracy; I like to go with a majority. The deniers are in a minority.

Second, while I think there is some good contrary findings by deniers, I am skeptical of the denier’s backers – namely fossil fuel companies, some of which are moving away from the deniers.

What also is suspicious is the deniers and their corporate interests don’t seem interested in compromise or in seeing any relevance or credibility from the other side.

And most of these corporate special interests are trying to put the skids on new technologies until they own or control them.

We need an infusion of new technology and green and solar efforts should lead to new jobs and lower costs – in the long run. We need more investment in people like Elon Musk.

Third, the CIA and the military both see the effects of climate change. Russia is planning on making the North Pole its own, new Suez Canal to get goods and materials to Europe and the west.

Fourth, living near the coastline I have seen the reaction of the insurance companies’ property and casualty business. Try getting a reasonable policy if you build near the coast.

I know this will get my right-wing friends howling.

But before you think I have gone Karl Marx on you, understand that I favor fracking for natural gas in the US. Yes, there are some concerns, but all the studies seem to point to a fairly safe track record and an industry trying to continually improve it.

In addition, I have been opposed to left-wing environmental efforts to stop oil drilling in the US because it makes us look like an elitist nation – using up all the energy but refusing to deal with the environmental clean-up.

We have kept our beaches and parks pristine while other nations took petro-dollars and put them in the pockets of dictators while most of those populations suffered. Look at Africa and the Middle East today.

We have also failed to control and conserve our natural resources. Many analysts point to the problems in the Middle East and Africa as a result of dwindling resources to feed and care for a population that is getting larger. I am still convinced that part of the reason Iran came to the nuclear bargaining table is that they are running out of water.

Besides that power for resources, we also have a power vacuum in most religions – especially here in the US – which are opposed to abortion but also opposed to birth control.

Sorry, but deniers, organized religion, and corporate interests may have their points but they don’t add up to solutions for the world.

Your turn.