Author: Arthur Zulu Contact Author: mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com Copyright: Copyright © Arthur Zulu 2002 Word Count: 515 Web Address: http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975

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HOW GREENHOUSE GASES WILL DESTROY THE EARTH.

By Arthur Zulu

Death came swiftly for Great Julius Caesar on his way to capitol. And one of his murderers? Brutus, a trusted friend!

If you talk of betrayals, more bizarre things have happened. For even Agamemon -- conqueror of lands and of mighty men, was killed by his own wife!

But pity neither Caesar, nor Agamemon. For your best riends are this moment betraying you. They have dug your grave, made out your coffin and are preparing to announce your obituary, even while you are still alive!

But hold on before you dispatch hired assassins to good old Billy, or faithful Penelope, and end up in dock for first-degree murder. Who are these friends?

They are greenhouse gases. Now, try this experiment. Find a hot corner of street, park your car there, and shut yourself inside with windows closed. How do you find experience?

The car will be terribly hot because while transparent glass lets sun’s rays in, it cannot let out dangerous invisible infrared radiation. You will be killing yourself!

The same story proves true for earth’s atmosphere which acts like glass in a greenhouse. It traps sun’s heat thereby warming earth. Without it, earth orbiting in cold, empty space, would freeze!

But too much of a good thing is bad. The greenhouse gases -- our friends which make us warm, are turning into our enemies. Let’s see their dubious roles.

WATER VAPOR As our friend, it absorbs heat. But as our enemy it cooperates with other gases to sound our death knell.

But I have two questions.

First, for what and for whom are we conserving?

The drought has forced many communities to issue mandatory water restrictions. Some have even had to truck in bottled water to meet basic needs. But not everyone is truckin’ in same direction.

Take Douglas County, Colorado, development capital of nation, where recently there was some exciting news. Mammoth bones were unearthed at an excavation site. But what was also uncovered was fact that frenzied addition of water taps continues unabated. People were encouraged in reports to contemplate extinction of woolly mammals. My guess is that it was early DougCo hominids’ plundering of mammoths’ water supply to green up acres of proto-bluegrass that caused beasts’ extinction, not climate change or overhunting.

While we’re dealing with a near-empty glass, developers want to sell more straws. One thing is certain. As water shortages become a way of life, we will be forced to find new water sources. Politicians will wait for right time to propose it waiting, perhaps, until drinkable water becomes scarce. Then they’ll throw up their hands and “reluctantly” offer a solution: more dams and reservoirs. They know that public sentiment can waffle, but profit and pressure to continue growth, as well as need to finance elections, remain constant.

Question number two: “Then what?” After we build more containments, build more houses to suck up any additional water, and confront inevitable next drought, then what?