You Are Your Own Worst Enemy

This is an image I found on Flickr.

It is one of many devastating

photos that demonstrate the effect

global warming has on our wildlife. Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stijnvogels/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Today on The Huffington Post, Senator John Kerry posted a message to the next "generation of young Americans," my generation. It is a call to arms for help fighting global warming.

"Now, it's time for a new generation of Americans to get in motion -- because the very survival of our planet depends on them.

Now is the time for young people who learned to flex their political muscle last November to shift into high-gear and get Washington to take on our historic legislation to combat global climate change.

Starting today I am challenging young Americans throughout the country to make their voices heard on this urgent matter. I am doing this through the Organize to be Heard Challenge."
[Read Full Article Here]

I love the mention of his era and for what past generations have fought. There have been many causes throughout the decades from World War II to Civil Rights, Vietnam, etc. He is right, global warming is my generation's fight. This is our thing to rally behind. Something must be done and unfortunately most of Washington is too set in their ways. My generation is the people that can do something and have to do something about it. Unfortunately it is a situation where we are really fighting ourselves and it is a race against the clock. There isn't some big, bad force to come together against. It's really just about changing ourselves, which is so much harder than fighting an enemy.

Through his program, Organize to be Heard, Kerry is trying to motivate young people by getting out there and trying to make a difference. The Web site is very well done and gives the different ways people can get involved. There is a point system for each act, ranging from one to 50 points. The youth organizers with the most points at the end of the month long contest get a trip to Washington DC to be a voice for clean energy legislation. I love community organizing, I love seeing people getting involed, and I love John Kerry for coming up with this great idea. There is such an issue with people my age feeling that no matter what they do, they can't make a difference so they don't bother. This is a perfect example of what everyone can do and making it a competition just gives that much more incentive to do it.