When the cold winds of March make spring seem very far off, the prospect of warmer temperatures sounds appealing.

It's too bad that the climate changes affecting Mother Earth couldn't give us a degree or two without flooding houses and highways, unleashing hurricanes and tornadoes, spreading drought and rain unevenly across the globe, triggering more international conflicts over resources and causing suffering for millions of helpless people one way or another.

As weather maps suggest, climate is a complex web of delicately balanced subsystems, with changes in ocean temperature having a dramatic impact on currents wrapping around the planet.

Insurance companies are battening down the hatches, preparing for more violent windstorms. This year, many insurance policies include a new wind deductible, and some homeowners are being told to purchase insurance elsewhere.

Recent droughts in the West and flooding in the East are ominous signs. When they worsen, what will happen to our food supply?

We used to complain about icy winters, but perhaps the cold wasn't so bad. Warmer temperatures also bring insect-born diseases.

Cold-blooded insurance companies, worried about future liabilities, and scientists who spend their entire careers taking precise measurements, are sounding alarm bells about the melting of the polar ice caps. When glaciers break apart, they dump billions of gallons of fresh water into the oceans, raising sea levels and affecting the currents that make our climate temperate.

Why isn't our government informing us about the undisputed science of man-made climate changes and acting responsibly to forestall disaster?

There's no disagreement among real scientists that burning fossil fuels and deforestation are the major contributors to the destructive climate changes already underway.

Nineteen of the hottest 20 years on record have occurred since 1980, and 2005 was the hottest year since reliable records have been available worldwide (scientists measure global average surface temperature).

Take a look at just a few newspaper headlines from the past month:

"In California, heat is blamed for 100 deaths"

"Region avoids major blackouts as it sets a power-use record"

"Swelter is tainting region's air quality"

"Record rainfall favors mold, health officials warn"

"Monster waves have been on the rise"

"Amid heat wave, storm deprives many of power in St. Louis"

"Rare tornado snaps trees and power lines"

"Climate experts warn of more coastal building"

"As sea level rises, marsh grass declines"

"Record heat wilts Europe, strains power supply and hurts crops"

Americans have seen our consumption of fossil fuels rise faster during the past 25 years: We commute farther, drive heavier cars, are more dependent on air conditioning, and use many more gas-powered and electricity-dependent machines.

Of course, scientists aren't advocating that we do away with useful technology.

The Union of Concerned Scientists expresses the view of most experts: "By putting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and vehicle technology solutions in place at the federal level, we can reduce our contribution to global warming while creating a stronger, healthier and more secure nation."

Most of us can also find ways to reduce our personal energy waste without sacrificing comfort or our standard of living. Every watt and every gallon of fuel count.

Why isn't there a drumbeat from the government in Washington, urging us to conserve, mandating greater efficiency and improving public transportation at least to European standards?

The Republican control of the presidency, Congress and a majority of the state governorships makes it very difficult to get this issue of climate change before the voters.

The fossil-fuel industry wields unprecedented power. Former oil executives now run our country as elected or appointed officials. "Advised" by lobbyists and major Republican campaign contributors, they draft the legislation passed by their friends in Congress. They even edit the warnings of government scientists before they are officially released!

"This decade's new jobs are in clean energy, and we haven't seized them," former President Clinton said recently. "We have a short time in the life of the planet to turn this around." He acknowledges that we didn't start acting soon enough.

Why isn't our current president admitting the facts?

Democrats in the Senate and House (both of which are tightly controlled by Republican leaders) have introduced bills to address global warming, but you're not likely to hear about them. The Republican chair of the Senate's environment committee has called global warming a hoax.

If we are to forestall irreversible climate change, we must elect Democrats in every state of our union this November. Once Democrats are in leadership positions, our government will act.