Mother Nature Forces Involvemnet

In his article, “We’re Gonna Be Sorry,” New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman criticizes Senate Democrats for choosing to “…[abandon] the effort to pass an energy/climate bill that would begin to cap greenhouse gases that cause global warming and promote renewable energy that could diminish our addiction to oil.” Seeing as though Mr. Friedman has served as a economic correspondent in Washington and chief White House correspondent for the New York Times he is probably well informed about how Congress works and apt to criticize as well. Friedman points out that he could blame Republicans for not voting for the bill or hesitant Democrats or even President Obama, but he point out when it comes down to it “…the public, confused and stressed by the last two years, never got mobilized to press for this legislation.” He suggests that it was the public who were the ones who did not use the system to promote legislation that is in the public’s interest.

This is upsetting because it shows where the public is failing. The public is given the right to petition for legislation through multiple ways and still did not mobilize for this bill. Friedman points out that this is especially upsetting because the public is messing with “Mother Nature” who, according to Friedman, “Mother Nature is going to do whatever chemistry, biology and physics dictate.” Global warming is happening whether we want it to or not and it is dangerous for us as the public to just watch and let political games dictate whether or not legislation gets passed to help protect the earth we all live in. This is the time, where information and communication is readily available and easy to use, the public should be figuring out what is in their best interest and doing what they can to protect it. To put it simply, the failure for this watered down energy bill to pass is a wake up call for the nation to get involved in the democracy the Framers built or else we will regret it.