Why Hurricane Sandy should matter in the voting booth

On my recent trip back to Vermont this August I finally witnessed savage effects of Hurricane Irene which unexpectedly ripped through the Green Mountain state where nobody was expecting this kind of weather change.  It was a heart-breaking, rude reminder that global warming is very real and is changing our beloved world faster than we can turn things around.

Many Americans don't even believe there is such a thing as global warming thanks to believing the radical republican right who benefit from big businesses related to oil and gas.

Now here comes the next "unexpected" East Coast-Big One, "Sandy."  (Really "Sandy?"  My daughter's convinced they're naming hurricanes off a list of retirees at Leisure World.)

Depressing.   In fact, this blog post was formerly titled "Please Be Safe," but I woke up today convinced that this was such a downer of a post that I should attempt to be more practical with my thoughts.  (When in doubt, strive to be practical.)

So, what can be done?

--  Well, not waiting one minute longer to choose an administration that immediately ceases our dependence on fossil fuels is WITHOUT A DOUBT  the very first step in the right direction.  No question about this.  To suggest otherwise is, in my opinion, sinful.  To our planet and our children.

Clearly Obama is obviously the better choice than Romney's "drill, baby, drill" stance, but even Obama's administration could and should do more to step things up and further fight the effects of global warming.  For instance, we should have the courage to ruffle global feathers and take this fight against fossil fuel polution all the way to China and snuff out their black plumes of putrid, toxic air pollution once and for all.  Because, the pollution's Acid Rain is killing us, too.  (I think it's a significant  missing piece of the puzzle about the rise of allergies and asthma, too, but, hang on -- I digress -- that's for another post.)

Listen, I did what I could. I traded in my beloved Honda Odyssey for a Ford Escape Hybrid. It's smaller, less comfy, less a lot of things I miss dearly, but in the end when I think of how much I'm on the road and how I know that I've something big in my tiny life to change my carbon footprint, I can go to bed and sleep better.

I suggest we all do something in our own lives to reduce their own carbon footprint: STARTING WITH NOT ELECTING ROMNEY.

So, every time you watch the Weather Channel.  Think about this:  THOSE SCARY WEATHER REPORTS WILL GET WORSE IF YOU VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN.

Now, don't be fooled by the title of my blog:  I'm on the side of Mother Earth, not the "Left" or the "Right."

My advice here would be entirely different if the Republicans running for office were interested in conservation of resources and economic and policy restraint, like they USED to be. But now? Republicans = $ interests and that = a huge part of what's killing us.