What's my motivation?

I have thus far refrained from ranting about the destructive consequences of climate change - we get a lot of that from all directions... But I thought it would be interesting to try to articulate why I personally think this is such an important issue - not to convince others, but rather to understand it myself. So, here's the beginning of an attempt to articulate my motivation - a work in progress, perhaps:

• The consequences of climate change will be devastating for all life. I won't go into much detail here - see "The Weather Makers" by Tim Flannery for more information. This, in itself, is a reason, but it also feeds into deeper motivations, both as an individual and as a part of a greater whole:

• I want to protect myself and the things I love. I plan on having kids some day. I feel a responsibility to them to pass on this world as intact as possible, complete with biodiversity, clean drinking water, peace, and the opportunity to live a fulfilling life. It sounds trite, but this is a motivating factor. Sometimes I'm inclined to get cynical about the human race (both about civilization's future survival as well as whether we deserve to survive at all). But then I remember all the individuals in my life and how much I love them. Humans really are worth working for. So are all the places and species, the natural communities, the rocks, mountains, rivers and lakes that I experience and enjoy.
  
• I'm part of a greater whole. That statement is true on a spiritual, scientific and philosophical level - the fate of the Earth and the community of life impacts me on a spiritual, physical and intellectual level. I'm not just worried that 3 out of every 5 species are expected to go extinct by the end of the century under a business as usual scenario (Flannery, 2005) because I think polar bears are cute (though I do). It upsets me because I am intrinsically connected; the devastating loss of life and diversity devastates me because I am a part of all this. Likewise, even if I'm not one of the 200 million people displaced by rising seas (Stern Review, 2007), I am part of a global community, the wellbeing of which affects me.
  

• As a first world citizen from the world's greatest perpetrator - the US of A - I feel responsibility for the consequences of climate change. Likewise, I feel a responsibility to do what I can to stop it.
• Sometimes I think climate change presents an opportunity (?): a chance to rethink and reconstruct not only our relationship to the Earth but also our relationship with each other; a chance to rekindle the dwindling community spirit, a chance to revise our systems and institutions to make them more equitable; a chance to disrupt the power structure from the local to the regional to the global level.
  

I get really cynical sometimes. For example, I recently found out that emissions in the last several years have surpassed the IPCC's worst-case scenario (Raupach et al, 2007). Surprisingly, I suppose, a sense of hopelessness and inevitability does not decrease my drive. This is a moral quest, not an intellectual one (yes, I'm taking the word "moral" back from the Right). The passion that I feel cannot be easily diminished by poor odds. Just as I would do all I could for a loved one who only had a 1% chance of survival, so will I continue to fight.