Abusing the environment

The midterm elections are over. The carnage of the illegitimate war in Iraq with its "mission accomplished" proudly announced on national television on May 1, 2003, still continues its chaotic march into madness. George W. is still the despot leader of our nation. Al Gore's cinematized warning of global warming has been conveniently forgotten. Our suffering planet keeps spinning.

So what do we do now? It seems like the answer is to do nothing. Americans continue to love and care for their dirty and fossil fuel-thirsty SUVs. Are these ridiculous vehicles more important than the lives of our soldiers who were sent to Iraq to control the largest untapped reserve of oil in the world?

We continue to overwater our overfertilized lawns. Our trash cans fill up with excess garbage from overpackaging. Archaic incandescent light bulbs continue to light most of our homes. The waste doesn't seem to stop.

Nothings seems to change. Americans are spoiled critters with their heads buried in the sand and iPods glued to their ears. We're willing to leave a dirty and overused planet to our children so we can enjoy the wonderland that we have created.

We have soiled our air and water, overpopulated our planet and wasted limited resources. The devastating potential of global warming is picking up speed. Monster gas-guzzling SUVs, testosterone-laden trucks and overpowered cars are still pumping out toxins and climate-altering carbon dioxide. The "out of sight out of mind" coal-fired power plants which service our wasteful indulgences are adding their fair share of the same pollutants and more.

Choose to make our planet a clean place to live for ourselves and our children. All things are connected. Protect our ecosystems and may the oceans not rise. Start with personal change and then demand that our government legislate for positive change on a local and national level.

We are not superior to the Earth. The Earth can survive anything that we insult it with. But can we survive? Mark Rackow Agoura Hills