Forget polar bears

Reusable containers, pdf annotaters, walking and biking, public transportations, meat-less diet, 4 minute showers, limited and conscientious shopping.

These were the things I practiced that let me pat myself in the back quietly and go, 'Ok Kye you're not so much a climate-changer'.

Flash forward to today, as I reflect after reading an article on climate change:
- I just finished my lunch eaten in a plastic container (which I just threw away)
- While taking a break from reading a stack of papers I printed (my only consolation is I get to put them in a box that supposedly means they will be whisked off to rebirth as brand new recycled paper)
- And I'm pretty darn sure my shower this morning was well above the intended 4 minutes.

At least I take public transport, walk a lot, and don't shop as much. Big whoop. With all my weekend flying that's enough to have me guilty for at least a few inches of melting ice caps.

I have grown soft, perhaps comfortable, and have begun again the cycle of denial and self-righteous justification.

But the world isn't getting any less polluted, over-drilled, over-used, saturated with greenhouse gasses, and it certainly isn't going to tolerate humans cramping its style much longer.

I feel like a lot of the suspicion about climate change is missing the point. Sure scientists may be exaggerating, sure some companies that promote 'eco-friendly' stuff benefit (I think that is the point really, as long as the eco-marked stuff are actually eco-friendly) leading to more suspicioun about climate change.

But think about the weather-havoc that's happened in so many places. A lot of it is obvious signs that changes are happening suddenly because people couldn't cope with them. The closest and most recent example: more than a few airports closing more than once in the past month.

It's winter every year 3-4 months out of the year in all of Europe. But you didn't hear (or experience) before airports closing because of snow. Oslo and Stockholm and Russian airports never close-- why? They probably get the heaviest amounts of snow, but they expect it.

Blizzards in London, Geneva and Frankfurt? People are still scratching their heads about it (these are the people tucked safely at home with no travel plans). The people at the airports are crying as they set up camp for the night on the floors of LHA, GVA, and other three-lettered locations.

I think the point of climate change talk is this-- if the scientists are wrong and it won't get to tipping point where everything is irreversible and set for doom-- then fine. We can all celebrate the fact that our kids and grandkids and their kids and grandkids can go still go hiking and see treetops.

But what if they are right?