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NEW LIGHT: The Cornelius Fudge climate factor
by Emily Watkins
Columnists | 2/12/08
Posted online at 2:32 AM EST on 2/12/08
The story of the earth's illness is well known-man made factories, cars, power plants and the like release excessive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trap solar heat and cause the delicate balance that sustains life on this planet to be offset. Symptoms include larger storms, increasing temperatures and shrinking polar ice caps, which threaten to raise the sea level around the globe. The dangers of global climate change are increasing exponentially.
Meanwhile, in Washington, President George W. Bush and the GOP have paid little to no attention to the problem, preferring instead to either address climate change in a limited manner or perpetuate rumors that global warming is a myth.
Of all the Republican presidential candidates, none, save John McCain, have recognized that climate change exists. Even McCain stops at recognition, failing to put forth a plan for action as every Democratic candidate has done. Basically, America faces a situation in which we are approaching a crisis that our leadership fails to recognize.
Remind you of anything?
As you might remember from the fifth Harry Potter novel, a character named Cornelius Fudge made a surprisingly similar mistake. Fudge, the minister of magic, spent most of the book denying that Lord Voldemort had come to power.
Why did Fudge deny the Dark Lord's return despite the overwhelming evidence of his presence? If Voldemort returns, Fudge must fight him because Fudge is responsible for protecting the magical community. A government is responsible for looking after the welfare of its citizens. Likewise, the U.S. government is responsible for protecting its citizens against the threat of climate change.
The Bush Administration has ignored evidence of climate change because acknowledging the problem means that it would be held responsible for solving it. Addressing global warming requires shifting America's sources of energy away from the oil industry, a business in which Bush has personal interest (Halliburton).
Meanwhile, in Washington, President George W. Bush and the GOP have paid little to no attention to the problem, preferring instead to either address climate change in a limited manner or perpetuate rumors that global warming is a myth.
Of all the Republican presidential candidates, none, save John McCain, have recognized that climate change exists. Even McCain stops at recognition, failing to put forth a plan for action as every Democratic candidate has done. Basically, America faces a situation in which we are approaching a crisis that our leadership fails to recognize.
Remind you of anything?
As you might remember from the fifth Harry Potter novel, a character named Cornelius Fudge made a surprisingly similar mistake. Fudge, the minister of magic, spent most of the book denying that Lord Voldemort had come to power.
Why did Fudge deny the Dark Lord's return despite the overwhelming evidence of his presence? If Voldemort returns, Fudge must fight him because Fudge is responsible for protecting the magical community. A government is responsible for looking after the welfare of its citizens. Likewise, the U.S. government is responsible for protecting its citizens against the threat of climate change.
The Bush Administration has ignored evidence of climate change because acknowledging the problem means that it would be held responsible for solving it. Addressing global warming requires shifting America's sources of energy away from the oil industry, a business in which Bush has personal interest (Halliburton).
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