I just got back from 2 weeks in India, during which time I didn't write a single climate letter or for that matter think about climate change for more than a few minutes. Wow. It was wonderful...but no longer a good way to live in the long run.
I'd written enough extra letters before my departure on 11th August that my one-a-day average still held up; on my return I was two days ahead of the curve, and I've written two letters since then, so I'm good.
Today I wrote a letter that will appear on my blog day after tomorrow — but I thought I should offer it as a model for anyone disposed to dash off a LTE. Copy & paste my text, file off the serial numbers, reverse the order of some clauses, put in some synonyms, and sign your name to it.
Ready?
The August 26 New Jersey Star-Ledger opines about the advent of Hurricane Irene:
We can now add Hurricane Irene among the symptoms that scientists warned we'd experience as global warming occurs.
Wind of up to 100 mph, predicted to lash the East Coast. Ocean waves as high as 12 feet. That's in line with what scientists have said, that hurricanes would become more severe as ocean temperatures rise.
The comments section is a wellspring of stupid.
I sent this on August 28, just before going out to check the windows and yard for wind-susceptible debris. The storm will hit later today.
If America responded to Irene in the same way it has dealt with climate change over the past decades, our television, newspapers and talk radio would be filled with voices asserting that hurricanes are a liberal plot, dueling pundits agreeing that the "science isn't settled" on the existence of tropical storms, and blithe platitudes about how 100 mph winds and massive tidal surges are actually good for us.
Now imagine that we responded to climate change the way we're dealing with Irene. We'd hear about current threat levels regularly in the media. Advice on preparation would be widely disseminated; strategies for mitigating the storms of the coming centuries would be part of our national conversation.
And that's the difference: weather can't be ignored, while climate moves on too grand a scale for us to notice. But climate change will bring weather the likes of which we cannot imagine. Let's get ready.
Warren Senders
As is, it's 150 words, ready to go. Here are some possible substitute texts. Pick and choose to generate a new letter of your own:
Paragraph One:
If our nation talked about Irene like it's talked about climate change, our print and broadcast media would be filled with pundits calling hurricanes a liberal hoax, sober voices agreeing that "scientific opinion is divided" on whether tropical storms actually exist, and cheerful assertions that gale-force winds and heavy flooding are actually good for us.
If our media handled hurricanes as they've handled climate change over the past few decades, we'd be deafened by choruses of "hoax," gratuitous mockery of storm warnings, and bland assertions that "scientists disagree" on the existence of tropical storms.
Paragraph Two:
And if we discussed climate change the way we're discussing Irene, our media would regularly update current threat levels, we'd disseminate advice on preparation, and plans for handling the future's extreme weather events would be on everybody's lips.
On the other hand, if we talked about global climate change like we're talking about hurricane Irene, our news outlets would treat it as a legitimate emergency, updating threat levels regularly, helping people prepare for the worst, and offering perspectives on planning and preparedness for the coming centuries of extreme weather.
Paragraph Three:
We can't dismiss weather, since it happens to us every day. Climate, on the other hand, moves in years, decades, centuries and millennia, so it's easier to ignore. Nevertheless, the threat is very real, and there is no more time to waste.
Extreme weather is short-term, fitting the needs of our 24-hour news cycle; climate is long-term and won't adjust to our national case of ADD. But if we don't substantially address climate change, the coming centuries' news will be all weather, all the time.
The signature, of course, should be your own.
The more letters, the more likely one of us is to see print. The more of us see print, the more we contribute to the national discussion.
The lights may be going out but I'm damned if I'll go without at least trying to light a few candles.