A Vacation in Lebanon

My daughter, Alix, pointed out how real this war has quickly become. Last summer, we took a vacation to Greece. We're Greek-Americans and we visited our relatives. What if Greek terrorists had kidnapped a neighboring country's soldiers and lobbed a few missles their way? We would be outraged at the terrorists.

What if Greece was then bombed, by the offended country, whole neighborhoods of Athens destroyed, the country completely blockaded by sea, the Athens airport bombed beyond use? What if the main highway out of the country, to the north, was bombed? Who would we be angry at then?

How would we get out? How would we get home? Ah... you say the U.S. government will rescue us with cruise ships. What are we to do with our relatives? Wish them luck, wave and turn our backs? Now change the words above. Substitute Lebanon for Greece, Lebanese-Canadians for Greek-Americans, Hezbollah for Greek terrorists, Beirut for Athens. This story doesn't have a happy ending, if it has one at all.

Will we let the world end on our watch?

So, why do you think there is flooding in New England, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.?Seems like something out of a movie that all the documents in the National Archives, except the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, have been threatened. Speaking of movies, go see An Inconvenient Truth.

Who ever thought we'd really see the end of the world? Or at least the end of the world, as we know it. Oh, yeah, we used to worry about nuclear war. But, now we have not only willed our children a ticking bomb, we have shortened the fuse. Global climate change, due to global warming, has already started. Mt. Kilamanjaro is losing its snow. Glacier National Park is losing its glaciers and the Artic Sea is losing its cap. Those of us who love going to the beach will find them no more. Those who live near the sea, in Bangla Desh, India and most island nations, will die. Millions will become refugees, leaving the immigration debate as a meaningless joke.

We've known this was coming but have allowed a President and Vice-President, opposed to environmental protection, to be elected. Our legislators are doing nothing. We have lost at least five years to this folly and will lose more if we don't demand immediate action.

Climatic changes will cause more deaths, destruction and political unrest than any terrorist plot. This is a matter of national security and human survival. There will be more Al Gore in the movie than some would like, but the movie discusses the science in terms all can understand and that can then be used to convince our friends, family and neighbors. This is an argument we must win, and now. Go see it. Then act, if you want your children to live in a world with sandy beaches, polar bears and peace.