Whenever I hear the boobs of the world speak of global warming as a myth, I think not of melting icecaps or rising tides or industrial waste and carbon emissions. No, I think of the above scene, taken from Superman: The Movie.
In short: Superman’s father, Jor-El, is a highly respected Kryptonian who insists the planet is about to blow up. He provides his scientific data to the Limbaughs and Bushes and Newts of the planet, who laugh him off and insist he keep the foolishness to himself. He does, but not before launching a plan to send his boy to Earth, where the air is clean and the sun yellow and the hot dogs a mere $1 at Manhattan push-carts.
That’s where I feel we are, right now. Most scientists who study climate trends agree we’re screwed—that we’re poisoning the Earth. Yet too few people believe, and way too few people care … even if they do believe. We still drive obnoxiously large cars, still turn out heat up to 80 every winter night, still poison the air with all sorts of junk.
Yes, we’ll likely be dead by the time the Earth explodes. But will our kids? Their kids?
PS: A sad side note—the kid who played Superman as an infant was named Lee Quigley. In 1991, at age 14, he died after inhaling solvents.
