Oh my god, there are just too many issues.

Issues. A euphenism for "potential end to life as we know it." The Iraq War is an issue; the terrorism it is breeding, and America's growing isolation in the world, could lead to global anarchy. The nuclear fuels issue, all the weapons material lost from the Soviet Union, stashed here and there and waiting to be detonated in New York, Washingon, Madrid, Beijing. The AIDS issue, as one-third to one-half of Africa may be dying. The poverty issues, and will the poor rise up to slaughter the wealthy, or will those with the funds to do so purchase safety even if it means exterminating or enslaving the powerless?

Election issues. Economic issues. Social issues. Religious issues. Every one mortally important to someone, and that someone is willing to kill and destroy to get "justice". Kill and destroy to prove "truth".

And meanwhile, speaking of kill and destroy, there's the global climate crisis. A crisis is an issue that it busy bitch-slapping us and demanding action now — or else. Action, of course, is the clarion call to debate and ponder and hope a miracle happens.

There are no miracles waiting. Ok, perhaps a small enough asteriod will hit the earth to cause enough of a global winter to offset the warming, but the odds on that are a mite slim. I think we can rule out miracles.

We can also rule out our leaders finding a fix. We do have some terrific leaders, from Al Gore to members of Congress, elected officials and other public servants across the country. The trouble is, they are scattered and not in any kind of working majority. The critical mass needed at the top of our established instititutions is a long ways off. Whatever happens to deal with the climate crisis, it won't be decisive and positive action from these leaders, these institutions. They will, in various ways, simply make things worse.

Which means, as other leaders have been saying, that "we, the people" are going to have to take the lead on this issue. There is little we can do on so many of the other issues; we can push and advocate and demand, but ending the war is something only Congress can do. I doubt I'll find much of the hidden nuclear materials. National security entities are going to have deal with the terrorists.

But I can do something about the climate. I can do a lot of somethings. I no longer own a car, and that's an incremental push to the plus side. I turn off lights, minimize use of heat in winter, things like that. And the crazy thing is, if half the people in the country did similar things, we'd make an amazing dent in this problem.

Crazy, in fact, may be the right word. Dealing with the global climate crisis does not require a new Apollo project, not a Manhattan project. We have all we need in the United States to reduce the problem back from crisis to issue. We can reprieve the human race simply by using less and demanding less — and not even that much less. Our rescue from the impending tragedy is so close, and yet most people are refusing to do even the little required of them.

This is suicide. And murder. Someone who insists on driving a low-mileage SUV to work everyday when the bus would be perfectly serviceable is stealing from the rest of the human race. They are killing their neighbors and children, and they are committing suicide. Deciding you have to have the McMansion and all the stuff that goes with it, including the massive energy and resource footprint, is saying the future isn't worth anything, not compared to the short-term pleasure I want. It's the equivalent of jumping off a building just because the ride down is so fun.

Except that's my sleeve you grabbed as you jumped. Every time I waste, I steal from others. The plastic I threw away tonight to make my dinner is a tiny nudge towards disaster. I can rationalize all I want, but I know that at this point in our history, these little things are adding up. And as green and careful as I am, I know I can do better. And if I can do better, sweet Jesus what about those thieving bastards in their SUVs and McMansions?

Is that judgmental? Yes, it is, but I want my children to have long, healthy, happy lives, and their future is being robbed. And while I will continue to be angry with the people doing the most damage, I have to make sure I don't fall in hyprocrisy. Whatever I can do to do better, I damn well better.

There is no excuse for harming your children.