Who is this man? My guess is that nine out of ten people reading this entry have no idea. Aside from the presidency, he may hold the most critical leadership role in the United States.
If you've opened a newspaper in the past eight years, you're well aware of the world crisis that is climate change. Most, if not all, scientists now conclude that we have passed the breaking point. In other words, the United States along with China, India, and well, most of the world, have caused irreparable harm to this planet; harm that will soon throw us into an unimaginable world crisis. Although we can't reverse the damage done, we can begin to minimize further damage, and ultimate slow the forthcoming rise in sea levels, spread of disease and massive food shortage. If our leaders show us the way, we can perhaps add a few generations to our time here on Earth.
I realize that this may sound extremely grim and fatalistic, but there are few scientists who disagree with such an assessment. There is little argument that within a century, millions, if not billions, of people will be wiped off this planet, and wiped off too soon.
Back to the man above. His name is Stephen L. Johnson. On January 26 of 2005, he was named Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. It has been almost four years and he is universally unknown to the American population as well as the rest of the World. As this crisis becomes more and more dire, the lead environmental spokesman for the premiere world power is absolutely invisible. Given George Bush's alignment with big oil and big business, this man was appointed to do, well, nothing. How on Earth he is able to sleep at night is a mystery to me.
When climate change truly begins to level parts of this world, this man, Stephen L. Johnson, will be remembered. He will be remembered as a man who could have helped. Yet he did nothing. Absolutely nothing. This man should not hold one of this country's more important leadership roles. He should be answering to the World in the Hague.
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