Stick a fork in them. They are done.
"They" are anyone involved with the Bush administration. Bush is at 26% approval rating; only Nixon, prior to resigning, was lower (there's still time, George!). Cheney is unhinged, claiming he's a fourth branch of government unto himself. Iraq is in shambles; the troop "surge" has only created a "surge" in troop deaths. The Abu Ghraib story will reignite this week as Gen. Antonio Taguba, former investigating officer of the prisoner abuse scandal, will tell Congress how Rumsfeld forced him to retire for doing his job. The U.S. attorney firings story is unraveling, slowly lurching back to its source (Rove, Bush, Gonzalez). Stick a fork in them. They are done.
Now seems a good time to examine the larger picture. That is, how can humans slow our spiral into environmental destruction? The following are 10 things that I believe would be a good start:
1. The destruction of the world's remaining rain forests and the over-fishing and polluting of our oceans must stop. Period. There will be no wiggle room on this, no trade-off for remediation work elsewhere. The rain forests and oceans are vital to all life on the planet. Thus, any destruction of such vital natural areas will be treated as a threat equal to that of terrorism, with the UN (or some other international body) overseeing sanctions or—in the case of egregious violations—sending in military personnel to monitor areas of gravest concern. Wild animal poachers will face murder charges.
2. With nearly 7 billion people sucking the life out of the planet daily, family size must drop to two children or less per family. Any family with more than two will pay higher taxes (no deductions for more than two children). Any father of two who wants a vasectomy can get one free of charge; his family should also get a tax break or some sort of "reward" (e.g., free solar panels on his home).
3. All defense spending on the planet will stop, all weapons manufacturing be banned. Defense funds will be rerouted to family planning and habitat restoration efforts. Black market weapons sellers will face murder charges.
4. Planet-wide, standards must be set to gauge the "green-ness" of households. Tax breaks or some sort of compensation should be given to households that adhere to these standards on such things as alternative fuel use, bicycling to work, vegetable gardening, limiting waste stream, composting.
5. No vehicles for private use will get less than 45 miles per gallon. Hummers and SUVs will be melted down to make efficient vehicles; owners of these can sell them back to the government at a lower rate, or exchange them for fuel-efficient vehicles.
6. No more road building will be allowed, only repair of the roads that currently exist. All transportation funds will be funneled into alternative-fueled modes of transport.
7. All fast food restaurants everywhere are responsible for their own litter. Unnecessary packaging will be banned. All plastic, paper and glass will be recyclable, or biodegradable.
8. Produce and dairy items will be locally produced (e.g., from within a 150-mile radius).
9. All developments larger than four houses must go to community-wide referendum. All structures built from here on out must adhere to green standards to be set and mandated, not suggested.
10. Given that water issues will be the biggest challenge facing human populations, massive multinational desalination projects must get underway now. The draining of wetlands and depletion of river water—thus destroying habitat for fish and other riverine species—will also stop. "
