Super-Sizing While The Earth Burns

Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus is alleged to have played his fiddle while Rome burned to the ground. Nero did watch Rome burn on the hot night of July 18, 64 B.C. But he didn’t fiddle – at least not with a violin – because the instrument had yet to be invented. This apocryphal tale persists, however, because it captures moments when imperial governments are caught looking the other way when things get hot.

This aptly describes the United States last weekend.

The Earth isn’t burning, but it sure heated up last Friday. That’s when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its fourth report, the most sobering, definitive and specific of all. Eleven of the past 12 years are among the warmest ever recorded. Humans are responsible. Earth will warm between 3.2 and 7.2 degrees by the end of the century. The military, political, social and environmental consequences will be costly and tragic. Things are getting hot.

The fiddle for today is the frivolity of the Super Bowl halftime show and its disconnect with the sport itself. The place where marching bands once marched (they’re now sidelined in the dark) and where cheerleaders once wore sweaters have become degenerate stages for a celebrity culture that features men in scarves and women in black leather letting their hair down.

But even this was little more than emotional bait for the main show, which took place offstage during commercial breaks. That’s when the true wizards of America (not the coaches or quarterbacks) worked their magic to create a gluttonous, sedentary, crime-obsessed and materialist lifestyle that makes them money. For example, my television told me during halftime to drive a Ford monster truck, eat Dunkin’ Donuts, drink Pepsi and, on nine separate occasions, watch more TV. None of this is good, either for me or for the planet.

Hartford Courant