Shown is a photo of a globe, which is globally warming.

In this usage, “the heart of the matter” is the most basic point of the discussion at hand.  Scientists now consider that beyond a reasonable doubt, mankind, through burning fossil fuels, and adding other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, is causing climate change in the direction of global warming.  This is a widely recognized fact.

The problem is that we, all around the globe, are very adjusted to the lives we lead, and we are inclined not to think about it on a day-to-day basis.  I have known that we would be facing global warming for at least three decades, but could easily put off thinking about it, because it was in the future.   But here I am sitting fourteen feet above mean sea level, and I am thinking that we have got to address this right now.  Because we need to give ourselves time to adjust both locally and globally.

Did you hear about Al Gore’s  third “Climate Reality” project, which this year addressed the theme, “The Cost of Carbon”?

One thing we have done over the decades is have just one car.  Another thing we did was to not commute far to work.  Another thing we do is to walk when we can for both our healths and the environment.

We try to use what we buy, and we recently started to recycle  our waste, which is easy to do in Galveston.

We can do our parts, but it is 100% clear that none of us can do this by ourselves.  So very much more needs to be done.  We in Galveston have a huge interest in seeing to it that we all step up to the plate and do what we can.

The heart of this matter is that this is why I am writing this blog.  We have to work individually and together to solve these problems that are much larger than any single one of us is alone.  That are much larger than any group of us is alone.