Priuses, Politics and Poverty

I am not a scientist.

Then again, maybe I am - in the sense that I like to understand the way things work, and why. But I can do without the test tubes and molecular structures. It's more about enjoying the warmth of the sun on your face than calculating precisely how much vitamin D you're absorbing.

Politics has had science in a headlock for some time now over the issue of global warming. Not being a scientist, I do not claim to know how much is honest and how much is hullabaloo: let's just say my faculty of suspicion is alive and well.

Some of it claims to be serious; most of it is downright stupid. Green is "in": drive a Prius, eat asparagus, do yoga, save the earth.

It is a noble idea, this saving the earth is. So noble that droves of people are enlisting without even asking who the enemy is. And therein lies the danger, for the aim of most politicians is to make you too queasy for questions. Al Gore has built an entire political career around the temperature of the North Pole.

Whatever truth there may be to global warming, the plain fact remains that the whole thing falls flat on its face when stacked against a pressing worldwide menace like poverty. Starvation is killing people - every three seconds - as millions of dollars are spent to avert a contrived disaster that is hundreds of years away. The Bible has a good bit more to say about caring for the poor then it does about cooling the planet. So what is the problem?

The problem is that poverty is too easy. Indeed, Jesus himself noted the stark simplicity of the task. There are plenty of honest, efficient relief organizations working hard to help the poor. Local Rescue Missions covet our support. It's as obvious and uncomplicated as writing a check.

Forget about carbon offsets. Share your lunch.

Image courtesy of harmsy.freeuk.com