The War On...What???

We’ve waged war in Europe, Korea, Viet Nam and Iraq. We’ve claimed war on drugs, illiteracy, cancer and terror…Whose idea was it to wage a “war on global warming”?

When I saw the latest edition of Time magazine in the store today, it got under my skin. Normally, I think Time is a great magazine. I particularly liked a recent story they did on the Dalai Lama. But this edition’s cover depicts the Marines who raised an American flag on Iwo Jima in WWII. Except, they are raising a tree, not a flag.

Am I the only one insulted by this?

The United States is the world’s leading contributor to green house gasses, with China soon surpassing us. We’ve dragged our feet in reducing our carbon foot print until now, when people are finally seeing evidence they can’t argue with. Now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and being environmentally conscious isn’t just for granolas anymore. It is the latest fad, and people seem to be “keeping up with the Jones’” in a new, greener way.

Don’t get me wrong, no matter what anyone’s motivation is, as long as folks are doing what they can to reduce their carbon footprint, it is a good thing. Provided it sticks and we don’t forget about it once the newest trend comes along.

But calling it a “war on global warming” is incredibly irritating. A war generally means “us” against “them”. The “war on terror” was only slightly irritating, only because no one knew how to wage such a war and the lines were not clearly drawn in the sand. The phrase “war in Iraq” makes sense, no matter your political standing on the matter. But global warming is a scientific phenomenon and makes just as much sense as waging a “war on evaporation” in a time of drought.

Not to mention, as I brushed upon earlier, this whole thing is our own fault. It can’t all be blamed on SUV owners, either. Like it or not, it is a direct result of consumerism and the driving forces behind our own jobs and homes. We like our big houses, electric clothes dryers, and driving as far as we want. We forget to turn out lights when we leave a room, buy cheap crap made in China, and hop in the car for that midnight run to the grocery store to calm that urge for fudge brownie ice cream.

So waging a war on global warming is in actuality waging a war on ourselves, on our very own bad habits. It is a war on consumerism, the driving force of our economy. It isn’t some bad guy out there we have to beat down- it is the self, and our friends and family…our society.

Calling it a war on whatever makes it out to be some monster in the closet. The least we can do is not give it a lame, over used slogan that sounds like we are placing the blame on someone else.