Many people over the years have told me that "its impossible for humans to affect the planet". They back the statement up with facts like how the globe could easily handle more humans and that we are an insignificant "flea on the backside".

First thing is that a flea can actually cause you to die but thats neither here nor there.

Second thing is i always wonder how many of the naysayers have ever lived in a large city. In the suburbs or rural areas i can see how one might assume that the planet could clean itself up. In the city you learn very quickly how filthy things can get.

My current metric is my back yard. When i had one dog i could walk around the yard without worrying about stepping in dog poop. The lawn mower the rain the sun the snow handled the mess for me. Then we got a second dog. The yard could no longer handle the mess by itself. After a third dog the back yard is basically a toilet now that required biweekly cleaning.

I am not a climate scientist so i cant go into specifics. I am not a lawyer either. But...when i have to go to court i hire a lawyer because i know that they made it their business to learn the law. Same with climate scientists. If a climate scientist says (and most/99% of them are) "humans are doing things that are making it impossible for earth to sustain a livable condition for humanity" i am going to believe them until someone with similar scientific credentials tells me different. Politician or employee of a fossil fuel company or some guy like me who watched a YouTube video are not good sources for information about climate science.

At the end of the day...whats the worst thing that could happen if we cleaned up the planet? People would live longer healthier lives. The only people arguing against the clean up effort are those who stand to gain financially by continuing to pollute and those who just want to argue against the "other team".

Finally...my favorite argument is "who is going to pay for it?". The answer is quite simple...the same people who pay for bombs. The people who pay for roads and teachers. The people who enjoy using things like the 911 emergency service. Our tax dollars will be used to clean up the planet instead of paying for lung cancer treatment for our children because the air is poison.