Open Discussion--"We've come so far but we have so far to go"

These are words of the new President-Elect Barack Obama.

No matter where you lie in the political divide, to see a first and secone family on a stage, one white and one black, representing the coming together of different people, in acknowledgment of the connectedness of us all, is a moment in history that we will look back upon with hope and pride for many years to come.

This is a moment when we can say to ourselves: "Yes, we can." Yes, we can rise to the challenges that face us. Yes, we can learn to live in harmony with each other and with the habitat we depend upon for our health, happiness and security.

Yes, we can.

But we have so far to go.

The work has only just begun.

We have just ten short years, for example, according to NASA scientist James Hansen, for the whole world to get off coal. Meanwhile the economy is melting down, threatening to take everyone's eyes off the climate crisis ball.

And still: Yes, we can.

But this is an open post. Not for me to talk but for you.

How do you feel today? Are you happy? Are you scared? Are you hopeful? And how do you think we can heal the habitat we depend upon for our health, happiness and security?

What message do we need to send to our next president? We needs to be done in the first 100 days, in the first 100 weeks?

What is Obama's responsibility?

What is ours?

As for all you readers who get the blog by email, you will actually have to come to the web page itself to participate and to read what other readers are saying. You should be doing that anyway. The comments are always fascinating here.

To do it, click on NoImpactMan.com. You'll see these words on the web page. At the bottom of the post, you'll see the word "comments." Click on that and you will be able to see what everyone is saying and you will also be able to leave comments or questions of your own.

As I said in our last open discussion, let's talk. Let's have fun. Let's figure out how to save the world.