Global Dumbing?

I am beginning to wonder if scientists have been getting it all wrong. All this time, people have been worried about the Ozone, or a giant asteroid, or some breakout of a bio-hazardous agent by a terrorist organization being the doom of mankind. We have spent all this time looking outward instead of inward towards ourselves.

The latest studies have identified two startling facts: 1 - that the whole in the Ozone layer is getter smaller, and 2 - that the brightness levels on the earth our getting dimmer. Does this all mean that Global Warming is all just a sham? Does it mean that the corporations who continue to abuse our earth with reckless abandon have been right all along? That tree-hugging hippies have had their brains melted from too much LSD?

Scientists seem to be getting dumber in direct proportion to the grants given to them by governments, which are lobbied. of course, by corporate interests. They have looked at the new Global Dimming phenomenon and said, "It can't be getting warming with less sunlight!" And no doubt that as this new story makes it rounds about the Ozone getting smaller, they will point to the great job done by their benefactors at reducing Green House emissions and say that the Ozone must be replenishing itself.

Statements like those should be judged as criminal, just as tobacco companies should be held accountable for the deaths of all their consumers. The population must be made aware of the truth behind their corporate agenda. We, the working class, are the ones that can control our future, and dictate to those Ozone depleting companies our new terms. We demand clean air. We demand that pollutants stop being poured into our waters. We demand our forests not be cut down faster than we can replant. We demand alternate, safer energy sources to heat our homes, and power our vehicles. We demand all this because our Earth is dying before our own eyes.

The whole in the Ozone layer has gotten smaller, but at the cost of thinner protection worldwide. We are not just talking about a gap over Antarctica. We are talking about more harmful radiation being let in on a yearly, monthly, daily basis. We used to be able to send out our children to play outside all day. No one needed any sunscreen with special UV protection. Now, one has to only go outside for 20 minutes before feeling the sting of the sun, while sunscreen industry has become big business. No one will react until research tells us 15 to 30 years from now that cancer has reach epidemic proportions. The warning signs are there already, we are just choosing not to listen.

Global Dimming is the best example yet. Scientists have started to look at how it has become increasing dimmer on the planet. Sunlight is not getting through as it once used to. It is only normal to think that whatever is keeping the sunlight out, must be keeping the heat in. And whatever is keeping the sunlight out is not necessarily providing us with a layer of protection. More likely, it is beginning to coat our planet with more harmful cancer causing radiation.

While I do not profess to hold a degree in science, I do profess to hold common sense. All science has done is identify several situations, but has done nothing to confirm how we got there, and what we need to do to get back to where we were. My belief is that there may be too much corporate interference for any decisive action to be taken. And for the companies who will continue to pollute our environment, that is equal to victory. The worst thing that we can do as a population, is to add Global Dumbing to the list. Get smart, take action. You may not be able to make a difference individually, but together, you can effect change. We may always live in a world that separates the rich from the poor, but that does not mean that we have to accept how those in power secure their wealth.

• Take public transit

• Buy hybrid cars. Create the market and force companies to move away from their alliances with Oil Companies, and forge new ones with alternate energy sources.

• Get more active, in physically, with your family, and in your community

• Read labels and ask questions

• Write to your representative

We have the power as consumers to change our purchasing habits. Force companies to hear our plea by talking the only language they understand: net profit. If we take away their profits, they will hear us in volume!

About The Author

Gary Whittaker is the editor of T.E.N Magazine. You can visit the site at http://www.tenwebzine.com. You will be able to find more great articles on sports, politics or other subjects, so check it out! editor@tenwebzine.com