Who Cares about the Freakin' Polar Bears!

First off, I need to apologize to my mom for the potty language that appears in this post. Although I have a bad addiction to the words darn, crap, and freakin', I don't usually mess around with the hard words. But today is Blog Action Day and the topic is "climate change," and that topic warrants a little bit of a potty mouth.

First in this great quote from an article on Grist yesterday:

They say that everyone who finally gets it about climate change has an “Oh, shit” moment—an instant when the full scientific implications become clear and they suddenly realize what a horrifically dangerous situation humanity has created for itself.

My "oh, shit" moment came almost a year ago when a friend sent me this video about the effects of climate change on a small island nation called Kiribati, where my friend had served in the Peace Corps.

Up until then, I had a vague idea that climate change might someday have an effect on people, but after I watched that video, it dawned on me that climate change was not a might or a someday. It was already affecting people, and it was only going to get worse. I believe my exact thought was:

"Who cares about the freakin' polar bears!!!!"

Why did environmentalists persist in peddling pictures of stranded polar bears when climate change was going to have a drastic effect on people? Already is effecting people?

Now, don't get me wrong. I think polar bears are beautiful creatures (and look super cute drinking a Coke in those ads at Christmas). But when I see pictures of polar bears losing their homes due to climate change, I think, "That is so sad."

When I see pictures of people losing their homes due to climate change, I think, "Oh, shit."

If you haven't had your "oh, shit" moment yet, take some time to explore the Climate Orb (put together by the TckTckTck Campaign) to put a human face on the climate change issue. Then tell your leaders that you support a global climate deal that is ambitious, fair, and binding.