It's Raining, It's Pouring, Deniers Are Snoring!

Recently I visited the men's room at Hollywood 18 theaters following a movie called "The Mechanic." I rate action flicks on the ratio of dialogue to mayhem so it was nearly perfect with about five spoken words to each car crash and shootout. But I digress.

Upon leaving the restroom I tried to wash my hands. There are four sinks with those automatic faucets that spray water when you place your hands under the nozzle. Only one worked which caused a slight backup and mild grumbling among the patrons.

The gentleman in front of me, in exasperation, exclaimed, "this is all the fault of environmental wackos!"

Really? Not, "these things must have been made at quitting time in China." Or, "I guess management is trying to save money." No. Because of "environmental wackos!"

Evidently, the idea of conserving water -- ads for these devices claim 70 percent reduction in consumption -- in a region with constant drought concerns is no competition for immediate ablution gratification.

How do you get to a point of such pique at those who feel Spaceship Earth requires some amount of tending that conserving water becomes tantamount to eco-terrorist oppression?

Given his reaction, I suspect his sentiments in the climate change debate align with those of Republican congressmen and Fox News pundits, as well as the equally qualified bozo invariably sitting on a barstool adjacent to mine, who insist global warming is a fraud because it's snowing hard!

Now I don't know if the climate is changing and, if it is, whether it's the result of mankind pouring huge quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere or, as deniers insist, the recurring geological rhythm of our 4.5 billion year-old Mother Earth. (At that age shouldn't she at least be given the honorific "Grandmother Earth"?)

Of course skeptics can't "prove" their hypothesis either, and there's good evidence the earlier massive climate change events resulted from shifts in the new planet's orbit, rapid core cooling and extensive volcanism which no longer apply.

Computer modeling validates conclusions of the vast majority of climate scientists. If the climate is heating up, we'd expect to see exactly what's happening: the warmest decade on record resulting in melting glaciers increasing atmospheric vapor which in turn precipitates catastrophic flooding and torrential storms, including blizzards.

Seems to make more sense than "it's snowing hard!"

In any case, dismissing climate change doesn't alter our security needs for renewable energy to conserve diminishing petroleum reserves and attain energy independence from petro-tyrants. Or to preserve natural resources and potable water and leave our grandkids an environment as good or better than we found it.

Whether humankind's destiny is a primordial swamp or a fourth "Snowball Earth" we still have to get by today.