Climate Change Makes Us All Hobbits

Forward Thinking: Lord of the Rings and climate change

Kay Cramer, October 22, 2017 (The Daily Item)

“…At the opening of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) by J.R.R. Tolkien, the rising power of the Dark Lord is becoming evident…[but not in the Shire of] the quiet, gentle Hobbits…[and they] don’t want to believe the warnings or change their way of life…When the threat finally becomes explicit, [Frodo] reluctantly accepts the challenge and, working with other races (elves, dwarves, men and women, eagles), defeats the Dark Lord…[Similarly, scientists have recognized the threat of human-produced climate change for decades, [but changes in the U.S.] have come slowly and have been easy to overlook…

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Just as war finally came to Frodo and his friends, the dire effects of climate change are approaching and we need to take off the blinders and start dealing with them…It is inspiring to read stories of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania cities and towns embracing renewable energy resources…In the U.S. House of Representatives, the [bipartisan] Climate Solutions Caucus is working to effect change…The final outcome in LOTR was mixed: the earth was saved from the evil power of the Dark Lord, but much of beauty and wonder was lost in the struggle…Our own lives will change; we will be called on to sacrifice and live more mindfully…[and] the lives of future generations will be very different…[but] we can meet the challenge…” click here for more

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