Anyone else freaking out about global warming?

As Hurricanes Felix and Henriette make landfall, I can't help but get nervous about global warming. There's a heatwave in Southern California (that's already claimed the lives of 7), and 102 F seems like a good day near the Sacramento Valley area.

On my drive on the Interstate 5 from Southern California to Northern California, there was a horrible ten-mile stretch where the sky was yellow with pollution and the sun appeared blood red as its light was diffused by the thick layer of smog. I could only see a thin strip of blue sky at the horizon, and I was anxious to drive faster to be able to get out of the shadow of this horrible shadow of smog and dust. It was a weird out-of-body experience, as though someone had time-transported me to the future during that ten-mile bit of road. I couldn't help but thinking, Is this what my children will see? Will their breathing be impeded by the smog that gushes out of our exhausts everyday? Will they never know of a blue sky, or a yellow sun? Will the blues and greens of nature become a thing of folklore and history, depicted in story books and museum paintings? I was able to drive past the smog, and come out blinking into the beautiful azure of the evening sky, but I worry that it won't be as easy as driving faster for those who will come after us.

What does it take to live in a greener world today? I can't be the one to preach. It's hot in my apartment and I have the A/C running. The fact that it's on low doesn't merit any praise either. But we really have to think about the ramifications of our actions, be it jumping in our car to drive a block to the grocery store, keeping the air conditioning running all night, or letting the water run while we're brushing our teeth. As vicegerents of this earth -- the only home we have -- it's a sin to let it go to waste right before our eyes.