There are still those who reside upon this planet who do not yet accept that their everyday lives, their very existence, is as tenuous as that of the mayfly. They do not yet accept that the cumulative results of their actions, and inactions, of themselves and their fellow Earth-dwellers, when added to that of their ancestors, has, since at least the dawn of The Industrial Age, resulted in the planet's current lifeforms being brought to the brink of extinction. They do not yet accept that it is human activity that is the prime-mover of this result. And, most terrifying of all, they do not yet accept that they, that we humans, can, if we act quickly and decisively and bodly enough, perhaps slow down and even reverse this tragic heading.

This horrific situation we find ourselves in is known variously as global warming or climate change.

The inevitability of the end of life as we know it upon this blue planet we call home is as real as anything ever has been. We have collectively taken the path towards our own destruction and that of our fellow living things. To avoid the inevitable, to save our own lives, and to guarantee the future of humanity in the universe we can and must take action now to mitigate our negative influences upon the planet and to multiply our positive actions in changing course away from self-destruction. But we must act quickly. We must act now. And we must act in every country, every province and every village.

Very soon, in Copenhagen, some of the world's leaders gather to ponder this situation we are in. Some will deny that we are "in" anything, let alone dire straits. Others will say that we still have time to act or that there is nothing we can do about it. Others still will say that this is merely a cycle that Earth goes thru and that she will naturally come out of it in her own time. And then there will be those, mostly from the countries that are the most greedy, the most consuming and the most destructive of Earth's dwindling resources that will say that their country cannot afford to do anything about climate change. They will say that it is not fair that they have to make changes when other countries, such as the United States of America, have acted so irresponsibly. And there will be much difference of opinion, much arguing and name-calling.

While Copenhagen fiddles, the Earth warms.

If the world's leaders do not act and act now, the inevitable will be upon us. Some day soon, perhaps in our lifetimes, we will reach the point of no return. The point beyond which no actions on our part will have any positive affect. The point at which those who have not accepted reality will find themselves starting at the face of it. The face of death. Death of dreams, of goals, of families, of prosperity, of democracy, of good and of evil. And the earth, less blue, will still revolve, though lifeless, around the sun. And no one will be there to tell the tale of man.