Killer:
Climate Change
Are we really so self-centered and
tribal that we will drive our species into extinction? Absent a last
ditch effort to react to climate change it certainly seems that way.
I believe that humanity is at a tipping
point where we must learn to live more cooperatively and less
adversarial if we are to continue to evolve into something that will
be more humane across the different nationalities and economic
interests.
Adversity between tribes has come
naturally to us from the time we were creatures that competed for
food and shelter. It takes little imagination or observation to see
how that survival technique has become more and more deadly until we
have reached the point where a misstep could jeopardize the success
of humanity. In my lifetime we have been focused on the ability to
use weapons of mass destruction for extinction but now we are faced
with a much deadlier enemy and one that will necessarily require
international cooperation to defeat. We have allowed our desire for
wealth and power to poison the habitat in which we evolved and we are
so reluctant to give up the advantage we possess that we may rival
the lemmings on their march to the cliff.
Climate change can no longer be ignored
nor can it be stopped. The easy solutions were available decades ago
and now their time has passed. Now there are only hard decisions and
we are still mired in denial and selfishness. Even the average
person who lives in an area where the cycles of nature are observable
can testify to the inexorable creep of change but now that creep
threatens to turn into a tsunami that can overwhelm us and leave us
without access to the most basic of necessities.
I want to assure you that the planet
does not require our presence to survive. Our planet, this garden of
Eden in the vastness of the universe, has the ability to do what is
necessary to survive. If the end were to come in a blinding flash of
light as the end-timers profess it might not be so bad but it likely
will leave dwindling numbers of people here to suffer until our
humanity is no longer visible.
I am a gardener, it is a joy of mine to
put stuff in the dirt and watch it grow into food that serves to
sustain it. One thing that does is it allows me to be a little bit
in tune with the cycles of nature. If I can't grow a garden we won't
starve. At least not for now but those farmers who work to feed
their own families and the rest of the world are able to observe the
cycles of nature far better than I am. Unpredictable weather patters
are able to disrupt the production of food and any student of
economics understands that a shortage creates higher demand and
higher demand increases prices. How long will the poor and the
dwindling middle class be able to afford to eat? The wealthy will be
OK until most of the rest of us are gone then all the stocks and
bonds in the world will be useless.
A few years ago agreement on where to
start seemed possible but the President of the most powerful country
in the world and the world's breadbasket said that he didn't believe
the science and terminated our participation. Without the
participation of the United States dealing with climate change can't
proceed because we are either the first or second largest consumer of
energy in the world.
There are consequences to climate
change that we haven't even realized yet and the consequences are
beginning to happen. Coastal cities are experiencing flooding at
high tides and some island nations are being threatened with
annihilation. Weather events are becoming more frequent and severe
and the cost of dealing with them is rising. Our military rates
climate change as one of the most severe threats facing our country
and is taking steps to reduce the effects on its ability to perform.
Life is a constant search for
resources, natural and otherwise. Our history is littered with
examples of how the quest for resources often leads to war and more
deprivation. If our country is deprived how long will it be before
we think of using our military to procure them? Let me tell you an
open secret. We are already doing it by using national wealth to
ensure that trade with countries that supply us remains unfettered.
A current example is our competition with the Chinese whose needs are
rapidly increasing. The Chinese are students of history and are well
aware of how the United States sought to deprive Japan of natural
resources prior to World War II. All countries exercise whatever
power they have to procure needs.
Now, from my ivory tower I want you to
consider the resources that would be available to humanity if we
worked cooperatively. This is what is going to have to happen for
humanity to survive existence on this planet long enough to be able
to reach a habitable place among the stars. Humanity can't survive
forever on this planet but it can surely shorten that span with
conflict.
The argument that we most often hear is
that the cost of dealing with climate change will be hard on our
economy and I wont dispute that one bit but cooperation instead of
conflict could drastically reduce that cost. Yes, economic systems
will have to change but when the alternative is considered that may
not be too bad a choice.
Make no mistake. My Take is we ARE
going to deal with climate change. The manner in which we deal with
it us up to us. Denial in the face of overwhelming science is
ignorance.
