Is the sky falling yet, Chicken Little?

DEAR EDITOR:

In a small town, there once was a chicken named Chicken Little.

On a darkish, grey day, Chicken Little saw a grey piece float down from the sky.

Off through the town it ran, shouting “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” Folks gathered around in shock and cried. “Chicken Little, what can we do to keep the sky from falling?”

Chicken Little jumped on a platform and mused for a moment, then said, “We can all buy expensive electric cars and install solar panels and reduce the carbon emissions that are making the sky fall.”

Some in the crowd ran off to empty their bank accounts to save the sky.

Others lingered on and one exclaimed, “But, how can I afford to buy those things?”

Chicken Little replied, “The government will help you by using your tax dollars to give you rebates.”

Another spoke up.

“But then I will have to pay more taxes which I can’t afford.”

“Yes but the sky won’t fall,” replied Chicken Little.

Another person in the crowd spoke up. “But aren’t solar panels made in China using electricity from polluting, coal-fired power plants and aren’t electric cars only good for 10 years after which they needs to be replaced and the toxic material in the batteries carefully recycled?”

“Sure, but that’s someone else’s problem,” said Chicken Little.

Another voice from the crowd said, “But Chicken Little, our country only accounts for 1.6 percent of emissions, whereas China accounts for 40 percent.Aren’t we just switching our emissions to somewhere else? Aren’t there more common sense and effective ways to keep the sky from falling like planting millions of trees and switching coal to clean burning natural gas or small scale nuclear?”

Chicken Little threw up his wings in exasperation and said, “How am I supposed to know? I’m just a chicken!”

“Pawwwwwk!”

Andy Richards Summerland