So, I’ve been thinking about the IPCC report that came out a few days ago on climate change, and I really gotta say, things are bad, honestly, far worse than I had ever imagined. When I was young, I was pretty hopeful that our ingenuity would pull through for us, and would allow us to overcome the obvious destruction that rampant capitalism had caused, with some reformation to the capitalist structure that we live under, with increasing standards of living across the world to deal with the damage already done, and the technological and conservation efforts made would mitigate any further damage done to the environment. Or perhaps, I thought, that we would start to feel the sting of the effects of climate change, and that the panic would cause the soulless corporate giants to reevaluate their long-term business plans, and go green, because hey, you can’t make money if everyone’s dead, or a climate catastrophe causes the collapse of civilization.
This report though, totally throws a wrench in that childhood fantasy. Sure, some governments are taking steps to reduce their carbon footprints, but the biggest contributors to the disaster-in-waiting, China, the US, India, have been dragging their feet on this one, which means that there is less energy than is necessary to get the ball really moving on this. The report says that the single step that would have the greatest impact on this would be the imposition of a carbon tax. The imposition of a carbon tax would, at least theoretically, create the economic incentives required to actually change the landscape of the climate change debate. Now the debate is not actually a debate about the existence of climate change, at least not really anymore, or at least it shouldn’t be (stares accusingly at big oil companies and conservative America). It is instead a debate on the best way to mitigate climate change, though there are exceptions to this including the aforementioned polluters. Levying a carbon tax, I agree is the best method by which two apply resources to solving this problem. Renewable energy, along with carbon capture programs and removing the excessive amount of plastic in the oceans, are important to preserving not only the delicate and complex ecosystems across the planet, but also with two ensure that our own existence continues into perpetuity.
Of course, with changes in climate, as the report does say, there are number of tangential effects, which may present in a more immediate existential threats then climate change. Among those, they list flooded coastlines, droughts, hurricanes, and famine from shorter and less predictable growing seasons. However, another possibility would be war, perhaps not an all-out War so just World War 1 or World War, but a more covert War such as the cold war or one applied with economic leverage, such as a trade War is incredibly likely to become common, if not Constance, over these next couple of decades as resources begin to become sparse in the most vulnerable regions on the planet. Proxy wars will likely be fought by the biggest players through small conflicts across the globe in Africa the Middle East and South America. Should any of those conflicts escalate of course from proxy wars to an all-out war or full-scale intervention, the tensions might be so high from the stakes of these wars, that drastic actions may be taken by bad actors, resulting in escalation to nuclear war. This is the worst case scenario, and would create a whole new set of catastrophic circumstances to deal with, on top of those already existing.
You know, I feel pretty depressed about the goings-on that I’ve heard recently, it seems as though the world of prosperity and plenty, but is rather giving into an era of scarcity, which may represent the last days that humanity has as a species. It’s a sobering thought, but we are not entirely without hope. A lot of us know things that we should do, things that can offset our individual carbon footprints, Though most of us, could certainly do more than what we do already, out of laziness, lack of incentive, or a sense of daunting apathy from the scale of the problem that we face. Some say that space travel will be our way out and then by the time change already be a star fairing race and then Mars will be our new home, Or the we may discover some miraculous technology that would allow us to revert the damage is done through some sort of terraforming method, and those people may be right. I will admit that while hope for my childish dream may still exist as a possibility, it is far from the highest probability, and relying on such a miracle would be foolish.
So what can we do? Well, there are the simple things that you can do yourself. You can drive a high-efficiency vehicle to work, you can carpool, you can take public transportation, you can ride your bike to work, if such an option is available to you, or if you can afford it. If you own a home, you can outfit your home with solar panels, and replace your lights fixtures with high-efficiency LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. We can pass laws, such as Amendment 112 in Colorado, which will increase the distance that oil wells must be set back from inhabited building was, schools, hospitals, and other “vulnerable areas”. Personally, I find it appalling that with every day that the climate report has been out that there has been an increasing number of signs saying to vote against amendment 112 in Colorado, saying it will setback jobs, because jobs, apparently, are more important than the life of the planet. does it suck that some people will lose their jobs if the amendment passes, yes of course it is. I want those people to have jobs, or better yet to be in in an economy, where are they are able to get retraining, free education, and able to find new work in the energy sector setting up solar and wind farms, instead of drilling new wells next to playgrounds.
Again, I don’t want to diminish the livelihood of those who would lose their job over this. On the other hand, they got to be willing to recognize that their own job puts the livelihoods of their children and grandchildren at risk. how’s the recognize, that such a move would be painful, uncomfortable, as so many people these days are just feeling the squeeze of economic pressures, from increased cost of living, to stagnant wages. However, this is everyone’s future we’re talking about here, and not just our kids and grandkids, this is our own problem. I won’t even be fifty yet when 2040 rolls around, and my parents will be retirement age. Hopefully, we can get our shit together before then.
/rant 