Alright here I am. I had to get on here and write about what I did today.

Mostly just about how this conference I went to helped me understand a way in which I can seriously get behind the issue I work for. Any of you who have ever worked know that it is much easier to work hard for a cause you really care about.

Now, I care about the environment. Just not necessarily from the environmentalist point of you. That argument that intrigues me (and most Americans actually) is the national security one. So when my boss asked me yesterday if I wanted to go to this conference on the climate change and national security, I jumped at it.

The conference opened with a talk by former CIA Director Robert Woolsey. Woolsey served the CIA under President Clinton, in addition years of experience in foreign policy and as a DC lawyer. He broke down the causes of our national security issues based on whether they are malignant or malevolent. His conclusion: malignant causes lead to malevolent ones.

For example: a driver in the U.S. does not drive their SUV around thinking, "I bet I can waste a bunch oil, pollute the air and cause climate change." This person is causing a national security threat, but not purposely. But a terrorist, who benefits from the this country's insatiable need for oil, absolutely is malevolent in their goals to harm America. He pointed out that eight of the top nine oil exporters in the world are in dictatorships or autocracies. When these governments fail, as they so often do, this is a national security concern for the U.S.

The a 35-year Navy vetern, Admiral Dennis McGinn got up there (he looks strikingly like Terry O'Quinn from Lost - which I only know because he was also in the West Wing). He talked about the dangers for the military and that the costs of climate change will, "be seen in human lives. It will be seen in military terms."

Those weren't even necessarily what got me though. It was the last three talks that got me. A man from Pakistan walked up to the podium and gave a stirring case study of the effects of climate change on third world countries. He did it using an analogy. If you were to look at the world from an exterior point of view, from another planet if you will and view the world as on entity, like a country, it would be a third world country. The reason he uses these terms is that climate change is a worldwide issue and a human issue that is solved on the state level. It is a very valid point. Solving climate change takes regulation, even though it might be business/individually caused and a problem for the world. The free market does not adjust for clean energy because it doesn't seem a necessary investment.

He went on to talk about the melting of the Himalayas and the critical issues that would occur in the center of three nuclear powers in south Asia. "This is a water problem," he said. It all seems to be a water problem and water will certainly cause some sort of conflict.

Still, not yet the moment I knew I had a passion. Instead it was during the talk of Dr. Michael Oppenheimer. The Princeton professor is one of the world's leading climate experts and a member of the IPCC. He gave a lecture on the basics of climate change. So beyond understanding the issue, I understand that it is an issue. I get that the world is warming. I get that he, as a scientist, is afraid to really say what he thinks or knows because frankly, people will think he is crazy. They disengage from the issue. These are who they call alarmists. But his speech, scientific as it was, held my attention, for 35 minutes, after having been sitting there for more than two hours already.

However, even after all of that, the fact that I understand the issue, I understand more than I think some people who work above me do, I wasn't convinced it was a political problem. I would argue what I argued against above: the market corrects itself, right? Well no. So then who comes in, on a cane and all, but Senator John Kerry.

Let me quickly mention that for some reason I was never that big of a Kerry fan. I remember in 2004 people loved this guy. He has grown on me. But for most of my life this big names don't awe me like they do other people. You saw my reaction to Obama's speech last night. Anyway, today, I really heard his words.

Forget the technical stuff, let me give you three things he said.
First, global warming is already happening. This isn't some future phenomenon that we are guarding against. It is happening now. Do we know whether global warming has caused more severe storms already? No. But do we know it will? Yes. Do we know whether it has caused wildfires? No. But we certainly know it can. More on that later.

Second, a story he told about the Navy. Absolutely the sea level is rising. This is scientific fact. Whether it is a cycle or something that we caused doesn't matter. We think we can do something about it. And if we don't? Well Navy piers were built for the current sea levels (Adam, argue as you so choose, but I'll tell you that Admiral McGinn also reiterated this to after the conference). In other words, if sea levels rise to where they could in the next 75 years, our Navy piers around the world, but specifically in the U.S. will face significant issues, including immersion at some point. Can we deal with this? Of course. But it will be expensive.

Finally, back to his first point. So say that we are all wrong. Say that global warming doesn't exist. Say that sea levels don't rise, the world doesn't warm, we stop having oil problems, all of it. Say we are wrong about all of it. But we pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate change bill anyway. What is the worst that can happen? We will have added millions of jobs to a struggling market, transformed our economy to a sustainable, self-sufficient entity and reaffirmed our role as a world leader. That's the WORST. The best? Use your imagination.

That was when he got me. When he finished that line of thought by saying, "It will challenge our leadership, but it ought to challenge our conscience." And it does. This is the defining issue of this time. Not health care (although it could be), not gay rights, not any of that. Global climate change and its close ties to energy independence (not electricity, oil stupid - sorry, I've been reading too much James Carville recently) will shape our actions in the world for decades. Clean energy could be the foundation of some leading country's economy. It should be ours.

This is why I almost felt called today. It was a lightbulb flicking on. It was me figuring out why I am doing the work I am doing. Realizing that there is a considerable majority, not just environmentalist, but serious members and former members of the military, religious groups and more that believe it is time for America to do the right thing here.

Reminded me of quote: "The Americans will always do the right thing, after exhausting all other alternatives." - Winston Churchill.

Maybe not this time.