So kids don't breathe 400ppm - NO Keystone XL Pipeline!

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NYC neighborhood after Hurricane Sandy

This post is about Chicanoliterature. But of necessity, it's about the rest of the humans and all human culture, too.
Word usage fascinates me,something writers manipulate and craft in their literary works. It's not easy.Certain words carry unintended meaning.
Two phrases, "Ecologicalfootprint" and "Save the Earth" have always bothered me fortheir inaccuracy. The first is a measure of the demands that humans put onEarth's ecosystems. Buying a package of junk food involves cutting trees forthe box, processing oil used to produce the plastic, the consequent landfill orrecycling needed to get rid of the trash, as well as our waste products fromeating the junk. And that's just the tip of the melting iceberg.
What about footprint? To me, it's BS. Butt-print, something wider and biggerthan a foot, would more accurately describe what our presence does to theplanet. Footprint's an understatement of our negative impact, like we won'tadmit our bigger, even catastrophic, guilt.
Saving the planet sounds nice andecological-friendly, but it too lacks precision, in an opposite way. Many of ourecological movements aren't so concerned about the whole planet as much as theyare about preserving it so humans can thrive. Face up: we'd sacrifice umpteenislands and species if that paid for our continuation on top of the food chain.
350.org is a group that keepscount for us of the first phrase, footprint. 350 means climate safety, for all gente. To keep Earth fit for humans, CO2 in the atmosphere must be below350 parts per million (ppm).

Polar cap melt

You don't have to be anyscientist to appreciate that the current 392ppm of CO2 means we passed the limit, live onborrowed time. Plus, it's rising about2ppm each year. For some years this has meant we're screwing ourselves like thedinosaurs never did. Forget about "saving the planet"; Chicanos,Anglos, Boricuas, vatos, Chinese, it don't matter--we're extinction toast.
A Lakotasaying fits here: The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives, meaningthat at least in one respect, today frogs display higher I.Q.s than us. When there's no more drinkable, livable pond, the frog dies.
As a writer, I'd like there tobe great- and great-geat-grandchildren to read my writings one day. When the CO2gets to 400 in my lifetime (knock wood), I might have to give up thatexpectation. I can understand and accept that.
That reminds me of a line in anarticle this week about Breezy Point, Queens, NY, a working-class beachneighborhood leveled by oceanic flash floods of Hurricane Sandy and subsequentfires. You can read people's accounts of the devastion, but what struck me about the residents' reactions was:"They didn't want tobelieve what was happening."
Global warming weather, 350ppm,melting Greenland and polar ice caps, loss of polar bear habitat, rising oceanlevels--some of what President Obama described this week--seem likeabstractions, until we're directly affected by them, like Katrina and Sandy. We just don't believe. Don't believe us frogs can drink up our pond.
Obviously, there are many thingseach one of us can do to get our pond back to full and livable. Below aredetails about one of the most powerfulopportunities to keep our species going. But the window of that opportunitycomes quick and closes soon.
Sunday,Feb. 17th is the Forward on Climate rallies targeted nationally for sendingPresident Obama one message:
Don't approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Ifthe message is powerful enough, i.e., well-attended, with one signature he can effectively prevent 700,000 barrelsof the dirtiest carbon oil on the planet goingdaily from Canada to U.S. Gulf Coastrefineries. And keep pollutants from raisingthe atmosphere's CO2ppm. [Read more here.] Congress doesn't approve/disapprove this becauselegislation isn't involved; only the President and his staff decide. Obama hasasked for us to "push" him. If you believe that, here's one for youto put your shoulder behind. Without that, all kids of all nationalities will have to learn how to breathe 400ppm in their much filthier pond in the near future.
Youcan attend one of the demonstrations (below), send messages of support (ormoney), spread the word via Facebook and other social media, E-mail, text orcall your President, congresspeople and anyone else you want to. And not stopuntil the message has gotten through. We owe something to our kids, grandkidsand ourselves. Plus, there's the pond to consider.
Dozens of groups willdemonstrate tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 17th, 2013 on the National Mall in D.C. totake the message directly to the President. More will occur in L.A.,Monterrey, San Francisco, San Diego, elsewhere in Calif., Chicago, Iowa,Michigan, Minn., Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Austin, Olympia & Seattle,Wash., and Denver, among others. Go here for details.
In Denver on Sunday, Feb. 17, at11:30am, A student-led "Go Fossil Free" rally will beging at 11:20am,followed by a "human pipeline" march to Civic Center Park. Starts atthe Auraria Campus' Tivoli Commons, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver. (Please wearall black.) It ends at Civic Center Park, 101 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. which you canjoin at 12:30pm.
If you think new jobs for usfrogs are more important than a dirtier, unlivable pond, or that a lower price for a tankful inyour butt-print car matters more than whether there'll be frogs even walking after400ppm, you might not attend. Otherwise, I'll be joining you in some way.  Es todo, hoy, but tomorrow matters mucho más,RudyG
BLESS ME, ULTIMA, the film opens in select markets next week on Friday, February 22nd, 2013. Go here for more info and check local listings.