A number of friends asked me why I have not written for awhile. Certainly the Israeli situation has been as complex and uncertain as before and there is a lot to comment about. However, for the last five years I have devoted more and more of my time to an issue that as environmental scientist I could not ignore – Global Warming. That takes now first priority for me.

It is not a new subject for me. Many years ago I talked about GW as I gave lectures across California on alternative energies development under my direction. I was the Manager of the pioneering Wind Energy program of the California Energy Commission and Manager of the Solar Energy Office for the State of California. At that time, like most environmental scientists, I viewed GW as a futuristic event that we would not have to face for a century or longer. I was wrong as most scientists were at the time. It was so much easier to reject the potential severity of GW than face the reality that humanity is on a collision course with nature. I sent my first email on GW to my friends on 7/8/2001. Early public warnings were made then, but our tragic 9/11 captured our full attention from that time on and sadly we forgot for several years the time-criticality of GW.

I could not forget GW as I was immersed in the Israeli struggle. However, for the last five years scientific evidence of the immediacy and increasing severity of GW has accumulated at such an increasing rate that scientists, including myself, can not ignore it. Much of the public is now aware of GW and some are taking a few steps to reduce their own negative footprint on our world. Too many still try to close their eyes. But the impacts of GW are progressing.

The scientific evidence from detailed studies across the globe is now clear that our burning of vast amount of fossil fuels (that started over two hundred years ago) is increasing global temperatures at an accelerated rate. This temperature increase has already caused serious damage across the globe. And that damage will be more severe if we continue to burn coal, oil and natural gas at the rates we have been doing for the last few decades. We must reduce our use of these fuels across the globe as rapidly as humanity is able.
Some wonder how is it possible that people can impact our vast world so significantly. However, the reality is that six and a half billion people spew some thirty billions tons of warming gases into our sky every year. An astronomical amount most of us can’t fathom.

The issue of GW is one of the most critical one facing humanity. The US and Israel are not immune to its pending devastating impacts. Israel supply’s of fresh water, as an example, is at dangerously low levels due to GW. In the US our water sources are diminishing and more erratic, and forest fires more intense.

May I suggest that you start studying GW so you can learn what you can do to minimize its impact. Just read your newspapers, magazines and search the web.
We can individually do our part to reduce GW. And I am not talking about the obvious things we can do such as driving less or turning lights off, all which are desirable actions, but insufficient to make a dent. As a minimum, I suggest that you write MONTHLY brief notes of your concerns to your three Congresspersons. They are the ones who will determine US actions to curtail our overdependence on fossil fuels, the main cause of GW. In order to move Congresspersons they need to sense that people do care deeply about GW. Our Congresspersons are not leaders, they are follower. BE A LEADER!

I will be putting some of my GW material on my blog below, especially if it is a long analysis: I hope you will look into it: (If you forget just Google my full name.)
http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/Ginosar/

Matania