In case you didn't realize, climate change is a pretty big deal. So big a deal that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to raise awareness about global warming. He shares the prize with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
President George W. Bush praised Gore for his win, but White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush would not feel any pressure to adopt caps on greenhouse gas emissions, something Gore has strongly advocated. That's too bad. But then again, Republican lobbyists wouldn't let a measly Nobel Peace Prize winner affect their agendas.
The Bush administration has also made many environmental acts less stringent than they were in the past - for instance, the Clear Skies Act of 2003, which allowed for more pollution than the Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1963 and most recently amended in 1990.
So it's up to us.
One motto of sustainability is, "Think globally, act locally." Our generation needs to embrace this now, while we still can - not once we've reached the point of no return. We can't say, "Oh, someone else will do it," because if you look at the national level, not much is being done.
Turn off lights. Turn up the temperature on your thermostat. Ride your bike or take the bus, and for goodness sake, trade in your SUV. Write letters to your congressmen and women.
And the easiest thing you can do? You've heard it a million times, but it works: Reduce, reuse, recycle.
