Dave Winer has a really good editorial today the country needing to come together and take a fresh look at where we need to go in the future if we are to survive.

If we have to blame anyone, let’s take the blame ourselves. We thought we could get by without getting involved. If ever it was obvious that we must get involved, now is that time. First there are people to help, so many, that we must all help. Then there’s a city to rebuild, and that’s going to require a shift in thinking about the environment. There’s no maybe about it. On Meet The Press yesterday, a panel of people who clearly know what they’re talking about said that New Orleans’s present is the future for all coastal cities. A rising ocean level has the same effect for coastal cities as dropping land level (which is what happened in New Orleans). We have to change our way of life if we want New York, Boston, Houston, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to survive. And that’s true of every coastal city in every country, not just the United States.

We definitely cannot rely on traditional politics to deal with these issues. We must acknowledge that ultimately we are responsible for what happens to our planet and our species. We cannot sit back and wait for an amorphous god to fix things. We cannot rely on politicians to fix the problem. We must start changing our own behaviour, Now! We need to use more fuel efficient vehicles, drive less, telecommute if possible, use the technology we have to reduce our consumption. We need to acknowledge that the Earth and all that it contains is a finite resource and we need to take care of it and preserve it for our future use and the use of future generations. I want my children to have the opportunity to live a good life and if we don’t all change none of our descendants will have the chance. Apathy won’t cut it any more. We must all particate in our future.