Ice age

There is a massive, constantly moving cloud of corrosive polluted air shifting through the atmosphere above Asia. It is large enough to impede such a significant portion of solar radiation in that region that it slows the greenhouse effect, according to the UN.

The UN released a study on the cloud that they began in 2002, which shows how long this thing has been hovering over Beijing without anyone taking action. Something must be done.

Take some small pleasure in being young at this point in human history. We are heading towards changes that, good or bad, we literally cannot imagine. Technological innovation will take directions we never dreamed, just as global warming will continue to be an increasingly large threat to humanity.

The scientists denying global warming are not acting as scientists; they are mouthpieces for politicians and people who would rather stick their heads in the quickly eroding sand, ignoring information that doesn't suit their needs.

Global warming is a reality, one worse than people think.

And yet, we sit for a time on a cusp, where we might be able to save ourselves. Technology, which may prove as much of a problem as climate change (stay tuned, Moore's Law enthusiasts), could be our solution. Flying in the face of Luddites everywhere, the machines might save us.

First we have to invest in them, though, and that still might not be enough. It's not enough to install good airbags; people have to learn to drive safely. And the technology doesn't really exist to do what we need to; so throwing money is only part of the problem. It's not enough to fully embrace alternative energy; we also need a way to scrub the crud out of China's atmosphere.

It's nice that Obama has been elected, but keep an eye on his definition of change. If the species becomes threatened by the climate, then the free-market system will, without a doubt, be defiled. World leaders will take our economic freedom to save us... but then that was practically an election promise, remember?

We live in interesting times.