Raser’s Edge: Cancer and Climate Change


Let’s say you walked into your doctor’s office to get the results of your PET scan and he said, “All the scientific evidence from the test indicates you have cancer.  We suggest we immediately begin an aggressive treatment of intensive chemotherapy and daily radiation treatments.”


What’s the alternative you might ask?  “Well, we can do nothing and we’ll take another scan in three months to see if anything changes.”  Of course you would say, let’s begin treatment now!   I know, because that’s exactly what happened to me seven years ago.
  

When something is not really up close and personal you tend to blow it off.  Because the vast number of Americans do not experience the direct effects of climate change in their daily lives they do not perceive any threat.   Yes we all see the hysterical hurricane tv news reports and frightening footage of flooding.  I live in Florida and just evacuated for hurricane Dorian.  It was a dud.  So you think, oh well, hurricanes have hit Florida for centuries and we survive.


Then the news cycle moves on, Trump and the Republicans tell you climate change is a “hoax,” the vast number of scientific data is wrong and by eliminating pollutions regulations and developing clean energy you are destroying jobs and the economy.   Of course, Trump (and me for that matter) will not be around when the climate change hits the fan.  So if you are told you have cancer, would you begin treatment now, or take another test later on to see if you do really have the cancer problem?


Today thousands of young people are demonstrating throughout the world for something to be done about climate change NOW.  Why?  Because they are smart enough to know they and their children will be around when climate change will have had a serious enough effect to threaten their lives.  And waiting to see what happens is not a good idea.


Hopefully, in this case, the little children shall lead us.