Imagine this. Scientists announce that there is a large space rock hurtling toward Earth. It is of such massive size and on such a certain course, that if we do nothing it will render the planet uninhabitable. The only method for diverting it will cost so much that governments across the globe will have to collaborate aggressively in the funding and development of Earth’s protection; sacrificing a portion of both their wealth and their even more precious sovereignty toward a solution.

After the initial shock wears off, the bickering begins. India and China think they should get a break on the costs because of centuries of western oppression. Hugo Chavez blames capitalism. Fundamentalists in the US insist it is all a hoax, perpetrated by atheistic science to destroy religious faith. Sarah Palin insists that the increasingly bright object in the night sky is just Jesus winking at us.

We’re never quite going to get the climate change people are looking forward until we get some needed change in areas that people refuse to address.