An Idea Whose Time Has Come
** This article appeared in TruthOut March 27, 2015 ** Why Nationalization of the Energy Industry is an Essential Demand for the Climate Change Movement All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come. - Victor Hugo Ever since scientists discovered a runaway greenhouse effect on our nearest planetary neighbor, Venus, we’ve known that climate Armageddon is a possibility. Even though Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, Venus’ thick cloud layer permits only 1/6 as much sunlight to reach the planet’s surface. And while Mercury is nearly twice as close to the Sun as Venus, the surface on Venus is 10% hotter, measuring more than 864 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is Venus so hot? Its atmosphere is 97% carbon dioxide. We know that human activities are adversely affecting Earth’s climate. Scientists began to draw our attention to the link between fossil fuels, greenhouse gases and climate in the 1980s. Since then, the evidence