The Right to Life Means Alleviating Climate Change

Global warming is one of the largest threats facing life on Earth today. Although the wealthier nations are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions, human, animal and plant lives in the Two-Thirds World will--and already have--borne the brunt of climate change. Small islands are already feeling the rise of the oceans, and there is evidence that an event as long ago as the 1984 Ethiopian famine resulted from global warming.

Individual behavior changes, especially by heavy resource consumers like people in the US, are vital. That is one reason why the Nonviolent Choice Directory lists resources on Eco-Friendly Living (http://www.nonviolentchoice.info/ecolife.html if the link doesn't work), to help visitors learn about the issues and identify and carry out positive actions they can take in their own lives.

(The global warming crisis makes me remember philosophy classes in college, learning about Immanuel Kant. He thought that the test for what makes an ethical action is asking the question, "Would this be a good thing for everyone to do?" And then, in his view, one needs to take that step, regardless of whether others will take it, even as one hopes they will take it up, too.)

At the same time, we urge government and business to rise to their even greater responsibilty to ameliorate climate change. This is a systemic problem as well as a matter of individual lifestyle.

Fortunately representatives from almost all the 190 or so UN member states are meeting right now on the island of Bali, Indonesia to negotiate a successor global warming treaty to the Kyoto Protocol before it expires. Breaking Down Bali is a good overview of the Bali conference and the issues at stake.

As a US citizen, I feel deep shame and outrage at the boorish, spoilsport behavior of my nation's government when it comes to this issue (not to mention others)..all the while professing its devotion to (of all things!) a "culture of life." I can only hope that the US delegates will not overstep their bounds, that they will have some glimmering of what that phrase actually means!