[Environment]

Connect the Dots

As Hurricane Rita lazily saunters toward North America, I observe several facts. In Rita's line is Texas, ground zero for the anti-government movement. It was Texans who defunded federal agencies charged with managing levees, Texans who ignored the warnings of Katrina, and Texans who yawned with disinterest when the storm left the city under water. In the bigger picture, it was also Texans who pushed for low CAFE standards, who tried to engineer an all-fossil fuels "energy bill," and Texans who chortle dismissively at sustainable energy sources. For good measure, throw in the Texans who gerrymandered Texas districts to ensure a GOP majority in the House.

Of course, others were involved. But there is something particular about the virilently anti-environment Texas oilmen and the nation's willful disregard of global warming. And with the House Majority Leader and President hailing from Texas, there's more than enough Texas think guiding national policy. So to those facts add these: it was a Texan who ignored a report he commissioned that said global warming is definitely happening, and the same Texan who said he wouldn't support the Kyoto accord. The same Texan who dismisses global warming and cites scientists who say that the climate is not changing and that the intensity of hurricanes are not worsening.

Of course, that Texan lives 200 miles inland, so he's probably not too worried. But maybe others are beginning to.