I've read a couple of things about the United States withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord and am puzzled by most of the reactions, which border on hysteria. Our previous president got us into it rather arbitrarily, if my recall is even halfway accurate. That's neither here nor there in what puzzles me. I just threw it in because I felt like it.
Here's an article that's not from any of the 'usual' sources:
ACCUWEATHER has this to say:
"The manner in which the U.S. leaves the Paris agreement is still up in the air and it could be several years before the exit officially happens. There are three ways in which the U.S. could leave the agreement, according to Climate Central.
[A] One scenario is that rather than executing a formal withdraw, Trump and his administration could simply stop efforts to limit greenhouse gas pollution.
[B] If the U.S. does formally withdraw, the treaty requires a country wait three years after joining the agreement before they can file the necessary paperwork to leave the accord, meaning the U.S. wouldn't leave until near November 2020.
[C] A third and more aggressive option would be if the U.S. pulls out of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). According to Climate Central, the Paris Agreement states that any country that withdraws from the UNFCCC is also considered to have left the Paris accord. The waiting period in this scenario would be one year."
The timeline/s involved give/s us a window of at least a year to come to terms with the whole thing, so the flustering and blustering seems a bit overdone.
The billions of dollars on the line aren't pocket change, you know. You and I can pretty well guess that the pockets those billions were probably slated to fill aren't American ones, and the projects they would have funded probably wouldn't have been American ones. Just sayin'.
The rebuttable presumption seems to be that the United States is going to just disregard anything to do with the climate. [option A above]
While that could conceivably be true, I honestly have my doubts that's the intent here. With the United States and China (China's staying in at least for now, by the way) apparently the biggest pollution-makers in the world, does it make sense for us to be spending billions on other parts of the world when we could probably put those dollars to better use right here on our own 'home turf'?
I'm typically a 'pie in the sky' optimist about a lot of things other folks see only gloom and doom in. Not always, mind you, but a lot of the time I am. I will happily own that.
So let's play 'What If' for just a minute here.
What if we not only spend those billions on developing alternative energy sources and alternatives to most of the things we're currently using non-renewables for, but add an incentive for our own (and other) corporations to invest a hefty hunk of their profit margins in said developments and training for the associated jobs? It will pay off for them before too long I should think. That ought to make everyone happy, right? The world better not gripe either, because we'll be doing what they say they want (only in our own way).
Being as we're right up there at the top of the 'guilty party' list, you'd think the rest of the world would be kicking into the kitty to help us get off of that list. Why do I not think that's happening, or going to happen? I wonder. No, I don't wonder at all about that. I may be an eternal optimist, but honestly ... I just don't see anything like that happening, do you? Didn't think so. Betcha it hadn't even crossed your mind. Or theirs.
Be that as it may, given that we're apparently 'guilty as charged', it certainly behooves us to be taking steps - on our own as the rest of the world isn't going to suddenly become givers instead of takers - toward removing ourselves from the 'bad list' and doing what America does: be the best as whatever we choose to do. Are we going to stand still while the Scandinavians are kicking our behind on this stuff? I think not.
I've said it before and I'll preach it until the cows come home (there have been several preachers on both sides of my lineages, of whom more than one have been women, so yes I can and I will preach) ...
Reforest.
Recycle.
Re-purpose.
Renewable Resources.
Use our available resources to develop the ones that will replace them, or at least supplement them until we get to where we don't need them any more.
Use some of those billions to provide American individuals, farms, small towns, bigger towns, cities, counties, and states with both the resources and the practical knowledge to pick up a bit of the energy load by using renewables. Give us what we need, starting with individuals and working up to states, to become responsible contributors to our own benefit and the benefit of everyone else.
You don't think that could happen?
You might be right, but we're playing 'What If' here remember.
I wasn't born yet when Americans were apparently gung ho on growing Victory Gardens during the WWI years. I wasn't born yet when American Women stepped up to the plate to work in factories when their men were away fighting. But I spring from the ones who were gung ho, who did step up. So do you if your family's been in the United States for any length of time. They did what they had to do when they had to do it. So can we. So WILL we.
But we aren't going to do it because some 'outsiders' tell us we have to. We'll do it because we want to, because it's common sense, and because we're just ornery enough to do it to spite those who think we can't or won't.
*laughing*
November 8, 2016 comes to mind. God Bless Deplorables!
We really ought to be doing 'Victory Gardens' anyway, on general principles. Some of us are, and I think Yard Gardens are great for those who have them (and their friends and relatives who get the surplus). Do a web search for Front Yard Gardens and see what you can see. If you don't think the everyday ordinary American family/individual can make a difference, you're flat wrong.
If you're wondering what possible impact such small things as planting gardens and trees and getting a solar panel can have, consider the effect of thousands of us (or millions) doing our own small bit, for ourselves yes but for everyone else's benefit too, could generate.
We do NOT have to always leave it all up to somebody else, and sit around feeling like there's nothing we can do about anything.
Pffft.
What if Americans really did start planting gardens again (including apple trees, or plum, or whatever), for example, and eating what they themselves have grown? Such a simple thing as that.
There would be a great big impact right there.
Psychologically and intellectually, the pride would make people feel better. They'd have to plan, prepare, and implement their ideas for the kind of garden they want, and then feel accomplished and proud when they prove to themselves and everyone else that they could do it.
Physically, the home grown produce would make people healthier (and better cooks), not to mention the being out of doors on a regular basis, and the exercise. The pharmaceutical companies might not like it, but what the heck. They're already in hot water; let's let them simmer.
Spiritually, reconnecting with and nurturing the natural gifts we've been blessed with might bring us all closer to reconnecting on a bigger scale.
Many of us don't feel much connected to the society in which we live in, sad but true. We each have our own lives to get through as best we can, and most of us are too busy and perhaps too isolated within ourselves. Too many of us don't have the time or the energy to get to know many other people, even the ones who are right next door.
Think about it for a minute. If you're out in your yard, trying to plan what you might want to plant where, and your neighbors are too, guess what. You're likely to actually have conversations, compare notes, get and give advice. You might be as different as night and day as individuals, but you've found something you have in common.
CLICK
There you go.
Let the healing begin.
Believe it or not, We The People really can set the bar for our own selves.
And we can set it as high as we want.
If you think your City Council won't notice if everyone starts planting vegetable gardens in their yards, you're wrong. If you think the media won't notice, you're wrong. If you think our government at all levels won't take notice and take heed, you're wrong. If you think our corporations are insensitive to our wants and needs, you're wrong. If you think that We The People can't send a message on up the line by taking the reins into our own fists, you're wrong.
What if American families and individuals started planting trees and gardens, whole neighborhoods and communities and towns together with a goal they've set for themselves?
What if American families and individuals and neighborhoods and communities and towns got together (for once) and made sure everyone got some kind of renewable energy source and the knowledge to use it?
You think we can't or won't do it?
Think again.
Nobody has to make a great big deal out of it. It's an individual, family, neighborhood, community, town thing - not some mandate from anyone. That's one of the best things about it: that We The People can just quietly go about making some really positive changes in our own sweet time, in our own sweet way, in our own sweet lives, by our own sweet choice, all by our own sweet selves.
Somebody tell Melania, okay? (no 'first name familiarity' intended but she's kind of our awesome collective Mother Figure now) Our First Lady needs a vegetable garden. And we need someone who cares enough about us to encourage us in making healthy choices. Healthy for us as individuals, and healthy for our nation when neighbors are once again neighbors instead of strangers. Some of us have such families, neighborhoods, communities, and towns, and I'm fortunate to have experienced it. It's something worth sharing. And it's something we can all participate in, whether we have acres or square feet to work with. You can always grow a tomato plant or something in a bucket on your kitchen counter, you know. Pumpkins might be a bad choice for that, but lots of things would be perfect.
It's time for our nation to grow up and to grow into something that's good for all of us, and I mean that literally.
PS: the farmers won't mind; they might laugh, but they won't mind
PS2: I don't need two scoops of ice-cream, but could I please have seconds on those home-grown green beans?
