What were they thinking?

A child born this year will be 81 in 2100.  Maybe.  

By 2100 many mammals, amphibians, birds, and reptiles will be extinct.  Over half of Florida, most of New York City, San Jose, New Orleans, Houston, and many other coastal cities will be under water.  Crops will fail, food will be scarce, famine will be common, and much of the planet will be uninhabitable.  But wait, you say.  We can take steps to prevent that.

Here is the headline in today’s Times.  “Destruction of Amazon Rain Forest Accelerates:  Brazil’s New President Weakens Protections.”  Yesterday I posted about the Trump administration’s anger at requirements for better gas milage.  Britain now has a clown as leader.  If we will be taking steps, we better start very soon, and I don’t see it.

If that child is alive in 2100, she or he will be asking, “What were they thinking?  How could they have been so short-sighted?”  That “they” is us.