What's Happening at the North Pole?

As a child growing up in the 1960s, my parents took me to a small yet charming amusement park called "Santa's Workshop" located at the North Pole, NY. (Founded in 1949, some have described this place as the forerunner of the modern theme park.) My parents explained that North Pole, NY was Santa's home in the summer, but in the fall he returned to the ice and snow of the eternally white 'real' North Pole at the top of the world, where his magic made all things possible (like delivering presents overnight to millions of children worldwide.)

I wish I were a child again and still believed in Santa's magic. Maybe then he could fix what's been happening at the North Pole this summer.

My colleague Kathy Gill of US Politics wrote about it in "North Pole Becomes an Island." After reading her post, I experienced the same heart-pounding, uncontrollable fear I felt as a child when I knew something bad was about to happen that I was powerless to stop.

Fortunately, then the adult in me kicked in and thought, "Yes, I can do something. I can make others aware of what's happening at the North Pole on my blog as well."

Global warming is taking its toll, even as some vice presidential candidates question if it's a man-made phenomenon.

No man is an island, and no woman is either. We are all interconnected, affected and influenced by the sum total of our actions and interactions. And marking our activity - bearing the brunt of our thoughtlessness - is our planet. Global warming isn't simply an environmental issue, a political issue, an issue for our times or for generations down the road. It is a human issue and a pressing one, and we ignore it - and news like Kathy's post - at our peril.