Today at Truth-out.org Dahr Jamail chronicles the continuing degradation of the ecosystem which nurtured humankind from primate to homo sapiens. The title, "Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration Has Passed the Point of No Return," says it all. The impacts from ocean acidification and oxygen depletion, coral bleaching and disappearing Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets as well as glacial melting occurring at unanticipated rates far ahead of predictions.

Bernie Sanders has identified climate change as an issue of vital importance to the United States and the world calling for a massive WWII kind of effort to change our habits as quickly as possible. Incrementalism such as Hillary Clinton offers pales by contrast, and yet we are told that she is "effectively" our nominee, something we've been hearing since Sanders declared his candidacy. Under such circumstances it's hard to muster enthusiasm for this race, even when faced by the prospect of the other Great Orange Satan (Drumph).

The propaganda war on Bernie following the Nevada Democratic Caucus may have had its desired effect on voters as most recent polls show Clinton leading Sanders by double digits. While great for Clinton the real loser won't be Bernie, but rather the global climate and all life that depends upon it. Those who suffer most will not be Clinton, her family and friends, nor will those in power in both of the political parties. Unknown people in the millions as well as untold plant and animal species will pay the price that our power brokers sign on for by refusing to robustly address climate change. As Naomi Klein has said, things are going to get very mean as a result of our inability to act.

This is a tough election for me, a little old lady who has taken voting very seriously her entire adult life. Choosing between Clinton or Trump doesn't seem to matter much either way when it comes to how our country will address climate change. I raged at President Obama, a man I worked to elect, when he chose to continue drilling for oil when it seemed obvious to me that we should find ways not to do that. Compromising with fools seems foolish to me.

Now I fear that the DNC begrudgingly allowing Bernie to form the Democratic Party Platform isn't worth the "wood" that platform is made of. The wood is imaginary and so is the influence of that platform. A President H. Clinton will do what she will do. I expect there will be a "greenwashing" effort, but nothing really substantial.

Bernie losing means we lose too. Little things like politics or who won Dancing with the Stars are going to become very unimportant when climate change really gets going.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36133-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-conc...

http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-california-democratic-...