American Cities That Are Seriously Threatened By Rising Waters

I will admit that I was offended by a lot of what Mitt Romney said during his ill-fated 2012 Presidential campaign. Truth be told, I try not to get offended, and certainly, much less, to express it. But Romney was so blatant about some of these elitist tendencies that America is increasingly turning to, that I could not help it. There is a lot going wrong with the country right now, and so many people believe the Faux News Nation's interpretation of things. There man was Romney last year (reluctant though their support was). But they did support him,  especially when he began to seem more forthright about advocating certain conservative ideologies and policies, many of which, yes, I found offensive.

There was the 47%. There was dressage. There was the insistence that corporations are people (my friend).

In fact, thinking about how blatantly and transparently that man catered to the interests of the elite and powerful corporations, it was not merely disgusting, but downright frightening.

But that said, there was one thing that he mentioned, calmly and almost in passing, that really irked me. Perhaps it irked me especially since it was supposed to be such a minor and dismissive thing.

It occurred during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and it was a barbed commented predictably directed at President Obama and others, of course.

He reminded Americans of the huge sweep of promise that Obama had ridden all the way to the White House in 2008, in what perhaps can seem at times in retrospect like a craze.

So, what did he say that really bothered me?

Well, in part, this:

"Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet:"

Such a cynical thing to say. Of course, since Obama had seemed to promise so much

(too much)

to too many people during the 2008 election, it was assured that he would not be able to deliver on all of those promises. Indeed, he probably did not even come close. And Republicans (and conservatives in general, it seems) pounce on such political opportunities. They express their cynicism, and this comment was met with pleased laughter by those clearly sympathetic to any comments mocking the President.

Mockery is the specialty of far too many who dismiss any and all suggestions that what we have been doing might actually be detrimental to the environment. Romney effectively made it the de facto official response during his speech. he deserved to lose the election for a whole bunch of other reasons, not least of which is being an elitist, out of touch prick. But he also deserved to lose just that one comment alone. Such cynicism! Such irresponsibility, just a few years after devastating tsunamis and Hurricane Katrina, and just about two months or so before Hurricane Sandy.

There is mounting evidence everywhere you look that the "Global Warming Theory" seems to be panning out, and that time is running out for us to do anything to curtail it (if, indeed, it is still within our power to do so, even).

Other countries, particularly in Europe and in Japan, seem to take it seriously. They have better public transportation, they use considerably less energy and invest much more on alternative energy. They drive smaller cars, and the leaders enact more environmentally friendly legislation.

Here in the United States? It's the complete opposite. Mockery effectively kills any serious suggestions that we might want to clean up our act. When they try to mount a more serious defense, it always comes to proposals to make cars more environmentally friendly, or to rein in reckless and out of controlling drilling and fracking and such, effectively amounts to an attack on freedom. The same arguments that far too many Americans (particularly those proud, card-carrying members of the Faux News Nation)  tend to employ in other fields, such as gun control and affordable healthcare. It is these attitudes, uniquely American, that has greatly widened the political gulf between Americans and the rest of the world.

President Obama allegedly wanted to pass legislation geared towards a cleaner and healthier environment the biggest priority of his second term.

So far? Not much.

Are you surprised?

I suspect that there will be some kind of action on this front from the Obama administration. But like the affordable healthcare battle, what is proposed will likely be watered down, and nowhere near the more progressive approaches of other industrialized nations. Also, it will likely be the fuel for another huge political battle. This for an issue, like healthcare, and like gun control (and voting rights, I should add), that should be larger than narrow political considerations. These are issues that should, theoretically, transcend politics, and often times do, in other countries.

Not here in the United States, however.

The environment, in particular, should truly be a priority nowadays. Instead, the leading Republican candidate for the presidency mocks it in his biggest speech. His acceptance speech. And the man who defeated him to earn another term talked big in one of his biggest speeches - the second inaugural. But after four years of not quite inaction (but no sweeping changes like he had promised), we are now well into his second term, and still waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

We always seem to be waiting for these progressive changes in the United States, aren't we?

In any case, here is an article suggesting the top fourteen cities that are most at risk by rising waters:


"14 U.S. Cities That Could Disappear Over The Next Century, Thanks To Global Warming"

 Posted: 08/26/2013 8:09 am EDT  |  Updated: 08/26/2013 4:57 pm EDT


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/26/global-warming-flooding_n_3799019.html