Giving Ourselves a Chance in the Arctic

400,000 people, 573 scientists, and 60 members of Congress have come out against drilling in the Arctic, according to YubaNet.  Main objections are that there's no viable way to clean up a spill in the Arctic, and there's no science on what will happen to the marine environment.  It's heavily symbolic, too.  

The potential damage to the environment and human health aside, drilling in the Arctic is old thinking.  It isn't a new technology or a new way to do anything -- like something stuck deep in the cortex of our early brains, we're still extracting and burning.

For no drill to puncture the Arctic would be a beautiful turning point;  a beginning of hope for us yet.  A step forward that could be a message to ourselves that we can change and improve.  That we gave ourselves a chance.

Imagine that?  We instead embraced innovation, clean air, and fuel that is naturally replenished, and yet, we still carried on with our lives and our worries and our dreams.  I can almost hear the collective sigh.  We're close.