I know, global warming's a hoax.

And the collapse of the Amazon is another unfortunate act of god.

Or, maybe -- on the off chance that global warming is real -- we could do a few things to stem the tide of impending disaster. Like conserving energy in industrialized countries -- the US in particular, where we waste about 80% of the electricity we generate. And 50% of that is generated with coal. The number one culprit in the unfolding global warming drama...um, I mean... hoax.

Here's a  bit from a story in the Global Post, "Rivers run dry as drought hits Amazon:"

Brazilians cross the muddy bottom of the Rio Negro, a major tributary to the Amazon River, in the city of Manaus, Oct. 26, 2010. (Euzivaldo Queiroz/A Critica/Reuters)

"The world’s largest rain forest has long been a bulwark of hope for a planet troubled by climate change. Covering an area the size of the continental United States, the Amazon holds 20 percent of Earth’s fresh water and generates a fifth of its oxygen. With the planet's climate increasingly threatened by surging carbon emissions, the Amazon has been one of the few forces keeping them in check. But the latest scientific evidence suggests the forest may be unable to shield us from a hotter world.

'Every ecosystem has some point beyond which it can’t go,' said Oliver Phillips, a tropical ecology professor at the University of Leeds who has spent decades studying how forests react to changing weather. 'The concern now is that parts of the Amazon may be approaching that threshold.'"

Would it kill us to turn off the lights when we leave a room? Or, turn up the AC a couple of degrees?

Nah, forget it.

Global warming's a big hoax...