1992!? How have I (we!) not heard of this?
http://deoxy.org/sciwarn.htm
If you don't click through (but you should), this is what's up... 1,700 of the world's leading scientists, including the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences, want to tell us something:
"Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about."
(emphasis mine of course)
We give people Noble prizes because we deem them to be the smartest among us. I would venture that these guys don't just go signing their name to whatever white paper passes through their inbox. But MOST of them signed this, along with a lot of other top dogs. Why wasn't this news story of the decade? The guys that spend all their time studying natural systems are very worried. Or WERE very worried, 17 years ago. I'm sure their feeling much better now seeing the way things have played out.
COP 15 starts tomorrow. I wonder if our "leaders" feel the same sense of urgency our best scientists felt 17 years ago... Good grief.
What are we going to do?
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Short answer: politics.
ReplyDeleteSome other useful links:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
http://www.realclimate.org/
http://scienceblogs.com/illconsidered/2008/07/how_to_talk_to_a_sceptic.php
I posted this in a bit of a rage, and the "what do we do?" was a bit rhetorical.
ReplyDeleteI mean, the guys who know what's going on tell you you're in deep shit. You either listen or you don't, it's pretty cut and dry to me. The most frustrating part is the way my cynicism gets baited, reality is just begging me to say "what's the use?"
But a small group of dedicated heroes banding together against impossible odds is the dominant narrative of our times, and I've decided to just pretend I'm in that movie.
We can't get politicians to act on agenda items that would help people now let alone what could happen to the world eventually. Politicians care about money, and if they'll have a job tomorrow which means money in the future. The earth doesn't stand a chance unless it steps up and hires a lobbying firm stronger than Exxon's.
ReplyDeleteThe EPA ("ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION agency") is going to regulate greenhouse gases because it is a threat to human health. Not because it could create an unlivable planet in 200 to 300 years, but because its causing asthma right now. Again, its a problem with longterm help:
ReplyDeletewww.tinyurl.com/epahealth
Sorry -- I meant my first comment to be in response to the question "Why wasn't this the news story of the decade?", not as a solution to the problem itself.
ReplyDeleteI understood your answer and it was more correct than that. It is the only answer to the problem at hand. We need the government to mandate the proper course of action, because no one else will take it upon themselves to fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteExxon, Walmart, etc don't care about the world, they won't change business models unless it is A) Profitable B) Mandated ... And, Correcting Global warming is not Profitable....