Change Locally

Suppose you live in a cul-de-sac with 20 family homes, and each home has children. At a neighborhood association meeting one day, someone proposes changing the speed limit on the road from to 15 MPH to protect the children.

Nine families immediately agree; in fact, some of them want the speed limit set to 10 MPH to be extra safe. They pledge that they will drive 15 MPH from now on, regardless of whether or not the motion passes.

Six families disagree. They say they can’t drive that slow on the road because it makes them late to work.

Five don’t own cars, so they mostly agree.

The nine happen to all live on the same side of the street, so they start badgering the lone holdout on their side.

Finally the holdout agrees, but says he’ll drive 15 MPH only if the whole neighborhood does. Otherwise, he refuses to vote for the proposed limit.

The other five refuse again, repeating they simply can’t afford to drive that much slower, but encourage the ten to drive 15 MPH because they’re right that it makes the neighborhood safer.

Angry, the nine families say that the lone holdout on their side is a jerk, but that the other five are good neighbors and upstanding citizens.

Think this sounds like an asinine story?

It’s the UN position on global climate change.