As quickly as the Tea Party came to prominence, they can fade away. While it's much easier to destroy than to construct, construction does happen.

Remember the boom under Clinton when the Cold War finally wound down? We can have an economy like that after we get out of Afghanistan and continue to wind down the excessive ungodly expensive weapons systems that were started long ago. We can redirect our economy away from things that do the masses too little good. Tomorrow? No. Within 10 years, yes I think so.

It wasn't that long ago that some national Republicans were for a carbon tax with a cap and trade system. It wasn't that long ago that investment in R&D was a national, bipartisan priority. All it takes is a few of the dinosaurs to lose elections, and for people to be willing to step up and confront ignorance and stupid policies (e.g. Wendy Davis in Texas) for things to change.

Things can change for the better pretty quickly. I expect them to with our help.

Yes, climate change is a big threat. We can make substantial progress even if we can't get back to 350 ppm in my lifetime. All it takes is for a few dozen seats in the House to change sides. It's not an impossible task.

I think a lot of our national problems would go away with a financial transactions tax and with some sort of election reform that included public funding. I've often thought that something like a limited campaign season (say 1 year for president, 6 months for Senate and House races), but I dunno. Unknowns need time to build name recognition and support, and the "operatives" that earn millions running campaigns would find ways to keep their gravy flowing. And figuring out a fair formula for deciding who gets funding and how much, in a way that wouldn't be gamed by incumbents or billionaires, would be very tough.

We, as a species, almost blew up the planet with nuclear weapons. We almost destroyed the ozone layer with CFCs. We almost destroyed the nation's ability to grow crops during the dust bowl. We can address climate change, too. And I think we will.

A sign of what's possible in the near term will be the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington August 24-28, 2013:

http://officialmlkdream50.com/

Hang in there.

My $0.02.

Cheers,
Scott.