26 years and at last..

I was sitting in my sixth grade classroom in middle america when I first heard the phrase 'global warming'. It was a growing concern at the time and my teacher at the time made a point of making us understand what the, then, theory was. Growing up in a midwest, ultra conservative family, the concerns that I brought home were scoffed at. Soon thereafter, Reagan took office and with the assurance of 'experts' in the government, the theory was trod into the ground, and fairly effectively eradicated from the media.
Thankfully, my story does not end there however. After a stint of mis-placed patriotism, I found myself in central California and discovered the 'hippie' culture. I also discovered that while the majority of the country had forgotten, a small part of it still considered themselves to be stewards of the earth, and were doing what they could to make at least their small portion of the world sustainable. Over the years, despite the best efforts of the right-wing profiteers, this movement has grown, thanks in part to great men like the honorable Al Gore. I even saw an article not too long ago titled, "The hippies were right."
I recently saw "An Inconvenient Truth" and while it truly frightened me in many ways, it also gave me hope. To see that the idea of a sustainable world has surpassed us tree-hugging, long-haired freaks, and is actually becoming a mainstream ideal leads me to believe that maybe, just maybe there is a light up ahead in the darkness.