DIDN'T WE SEE THIS AT THE MOVIES? ON TV? IN A BOOK?

     Two of the most important announcements or stories in the news are related. One was about the melting of the huge ice sheet of Antarctica and the impossibility of halting it, and the other was the pronouncement that global warming and climate change present a security risk and a threat to the world. Greatly diminished land masses and rising sea waters, droughts, vicious weather formations, etc. would lead to overcrowding and fights for resources, for water, food, space, and basic life support.
     Scary. This is life imitating art. We have all seen or heard of the Mad Max movies, Waterworld, a greatly underrated movie called The Postman, Cormac McCarthy's awesome book The Road, TV shows such as Jericho, Revolution, other disaster shows, and the list can go on and on. Meanwhile, just pick up the latest paper, turn on the news and one hears of droughts, of fighting for water rights in the western part of the country, of horrific tornadoes and storms in areas all over the USA and we all remember our own hurricanes and even Hurricane Sandy in NY that was so horrific (I was there) and all the homes still not rebuilt all over the country from all these weather events.
     I tease my grandson about his beloved California - the land of earthquakes, forest fires, mud slides, drought and Santa Ana winds - yet it is really not funny. And we ignore this at our own risk. Denying the facts does not make it so. Yes, there are changes in Nature, and the world has gone through shifts before. The period of times of almost non stop rain in England, the extreme cold that hit Europe -  these had historical effects and all took place over the centuries - but now we have the additional factor of mankind's contribution. Rubio denying this fact does not make it so.
     What can we do? I haven't a clue. I suppose if we all did our bit things might improve, but frankly, we need a worldwide effort and I do not believe that will happen for too many reasons. We can be casual about it and say we will not be here when the 12 foot rise in ocean water will inundate much of the world's coastlines, and a hugely truncated USA will take shape on the map of the world, but how casual will it be for our grandchildren, even for our children?
     Maybe 20, 30 years ago there was a cute show called Dinosaurs, I believe, that I would watch with my kids. It was simply a sitcom with thoughtful overtones, of family life disguised by taking place in a dinosaur family. It ended on a downer, relevant to our times today. Industry and big business had ignored the changing environment as they cut down all the forests of the world. It grew colder, the snow began to fall on and on, and the family huddled together in their cold home, with Papa dinosaur reassuring his freezing and frightened family that it had to get better. Someone would do something. Sound familiar?