It’s Not Always Political

There has been an uptick of community awareness the past couple of years that all of us need to do more to protect not only our drinking water but also our entire planet.

We’ve embraced plastic bans, will likely do the same for balloons, and planned for a large influx of wind-generated power and the installation of solar panels, even on small houses.

And New York state’s ban on single-use plastic bags at checkout begins March 1.

One negative to watch out for — and yes, this is a hypersensitive political environment — is to turn the green effort into a political debate.

In the past 50 years, the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts see the trend is accelerating: All but one of the 16 hottest years in NASA’s 134-year record has occurred since 2000.

Just the mere whisper of the words “global warming” turns the facts into a debate. Climate change deniers have argued that there has been a “pause” or a “slowdown” in rising global temperatures, but several recent studies, including a 2015 paper published in the journal Science, have disproved this claim.

Does it really matter? Are there really lines to be drawn? Is it really a campaign issue? Perhaps it is a statistical variant. If so, good for us.

Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface.

This is happening. Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, and everyone in between is responsible — responsible for causing it, and responsible for doing something about it.

We have already made affordable health care a campaign issue. But to reach an impasse would be a travesty.

Certainly, who is appointed to the Supreme Court will shape the course of this country for decades to come. Those appointees are too often picked based upon their political affiliations. Do we really want to play Russian roulette with a bunch of politicians?

Global warming? They are just two words. Don’t use them if you don’t think they apply. Disregard them entirely if they bear a negative connotation. But the lifestyle we are embarking on in earnest — green, clean energy, and a renewed effort to do what’s best for this planet — doesn’t need a catchphrase or slogan. It needs our unconditional support and action.