The state of the planet is much worse than most people understand and that humans face a grim and “ghastly future” unless extraordinary action is taken soon.
A loss of biodiversity and accelerating climate change in the coming decades coupled with ignorance and inaction is threatening the survival of all species, including our very own, according to the experts from institutions including Stanford University, UCLA, and Flinders University.
The researchers state that world leaders need a ‘cold shower’ regarding the state of our environment, both to plan and act to avoid a ghastly future.
Lead author Professor Corey Bradshaw of Flinders University in Australia says he and his colleagues have summarized the state of the natural world in stark form to help clarify the gravity of the human predicament.
“Humanity is causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and, with it, Earth’s ability to support complex life. But the mainstream is having difficulty grasping the magnitude of this loss, despite the steady erosion of the fabric of human civilization” Professor Bradshaw says.
Blindness to the Scale of Crisis
“In fact, the scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its lifeforms is so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts.
“The problem is compounded by ignorance and short-term self-interest, with the pursuit of wealth and political interests stymying the action that is crucial for survival,” he says.
Flinders University Professor Corey Bradshaw summarizes the perspective paper “Underestimating the challenges of avoiding a ghastly future.” Credit: Flinders University
Professor Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University says that no political or economic system, or leadership, is prepared to handle the predicted disasters, or even capable of such action.
“Stopping biodiversity loss is nowhere close to the top of any country’s priorities, trailing far behind other concerns such as employment, healthcare, economic growth, or currency stability.
“While it is positive news that President Biden reengaged the US in Paris Climate accord within his first 100 days of office, it is a minuscule gesture given the scale of the challenge.
Ecological Ponzi Scheme Analogy
“Humanity is running an ecological Ponzi scheme in which society robs nature and future generations to pay for short-term economic enhancement today.”
“Most economies operate on the basis that counteraction now is too costly to be politically palatable. Combined with disinformation campaigns to protect short-term profits it is doubtful that the scale of changes we need will be made in time” Professor Ehrlich says.
Professor Dan Blumstein from UCLA says the scientists are choosing to speak boldly and fearlessly because life literally depends on it.
“What we are saying might not be popular, and indeed is frightening. But we need to be candid, accurate, and honest if humanity is to understand the enormity of the challenges we face in creating a sustainable future.
“Without political will backed by tangible action that scales to the enormity of the problems facing us, the added stresses to human health, wealth, and well-being will perversely diminish our political capacity to mitigate the erosion of the Earth’s life-support system upon which we all depend.
“Human population growth and consumption continues to escalate, and we’re still more focused on expanding human enterprise than we are on devising and implementing solutions to critical issues such as biodiversity loss. By the time we fully comprehend the impact of ecological deterioration, it will be too late.
Dire Consequences Without Massive Action
“Without fully appreciating and broadcasting the scale of the problems and the enormity of the solutions required, society will fail to achieve even modest sustainability goals, and catastrophe will surely follow” Professor Blumstein concludes.
Flinders University Professor Corey Bradshaw describes how humanity is running an ecological Ponzi scheme in which society robs nature and future generations to pay for short-term economic gain today. Credit: Flinders University
The experts say their ‘perspective’ paper, which cites more than 150 studies, seeks to outline clearly and unambiguously the likely future trends in biodiversity decline, mass extinction, climate disruption, planetary toxification, all tied to human consumption and population growth to demonstrate the near certainty that these problems will worsen over the coming decades, with negative impacts for centuries to come. It also explains the impact of political impotence and the ineffectiveness of current and planned actions to address the ominous scale of environmental erosion.
For more on this research, read Humans Face a “Ghastly Future” Unless Extraordinary Action Is Taken Soon on Sustainability.
Reference: “Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future” by Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Paul R. Ehrlich, Andrew Beattie, Gerardo Ceballos, Eileen Crist, Joan Diamond, Rodolfo Dirzo, Anne H. Ehrlich, John Harte, Mary Ellen Harte, Graham Pyke, Peter H. Raven, William J. Ripple, Frédérik Saltré, Christine Turnbull, Mathis Wackernagel and Daniel T. Blumstein, 13 January 2021, Frontiers in Conservation Science.
DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419
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79 Comments
never read so much hysterical nonsense in … oh, let me think … at least a couple of hours …. the Malthusian, climate derangement syndrome is the most highly contagious pandemic in human history but treatment is available
only when POLITICS is removed from this “climate change” theory, can we actually move forward….HINT: taxing people into submission is not the answer….
It is not “hysterical” and climate science affecting biodiversity is just a known – and accepted – factor. If you try to paint it for what it is not, no one will take you seriously.
Larsson
But, land use changes — not climate — are the main factor in decreasing biodiversity! And, if you try to make the case that anthropomorphic-induced climate changes are the most important factor, no one will take you seriously.
Average global temperatures have increased a nominal 1 deg C in the last 100 years, with the bulk of that before 1945. And, there is more of an increase in the Winter and night time.
Money laundering
Currency manipulation
Assassination
Wars
Neo-Colonization
Mineral conflicts wars
Central banks & currency wars
Government wars
Genocide
& the deterioration of an entire planets psychological health thus biological state is the root of environmental degradation
Chase manhattan Bank
(Rockerfellers Bank)
Bank of America
(Rothschilds Bank)
Goldman sachs,
Citi group,
Halliburton
Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon,
IBM,
Boeing,
General Dynamics,
General Electric
Exxon Mobil, (Rockerfeller)
Bp,
Royal Dutch Shell,
Black water (Mercenary company)
(Global assassination squads)
All profit from war & environmental catastrophes.
They all also own Hilary, Obama & Trump & all 3 branches of gov,
These entities pay for their campaigns & launder their money tax & interest free)
Thus these banks & corporations put their advisors in government offices to advised executive decisions that manipulate society to self destructive behaviors.
Gov & corporations ,
created by credit banks ,
that come from colonizer kings & Queens economic systems,
create industrial, privatization hierarchies &
corruption fronts that create pyramid societies that create
mass war death suffering & comfort
for all the citizens inside an extortionist, closed system of controlled production
& manipulation of both human & mechanical energy for the benefit of a tiny elite, that horde resources profits & use human labor to serve their purposes & needs, is a political & economic system that needs to evolve & change beyond capital & communistic paradigms.
The root of the worlds problems are centralized, corrupt,
extortionist heirarchies.
Geoffrey – not a big fan of the scientific method? Tell me why we’ve lost 50% of the Great Barrier Reef? This isn’t a prediction, it has already happened. Coral reefs bleach and die when water temperatures get too warm. This should be a huge wake-up call to everyone. Think about it – 50% of the Great Barrier Reef is dead!
Not interested in saving the other 50%? Could be gone in the next 20 years. Along with many other living things. Welcome to the Anthropocene.
“50% of the Great Barrier Reef is dead!”
Yes, some have made that claim. However, there are other experts that disagree. I don’t think that you should be quick to adopt one opinion over another.
Check maps of the reef and look at the status and survival rates of the different species of corals. The northern section of the reef (the warmest waters) shows the biggest losses.
Very sad. I often say to myself – how could we have let this happen?
https://jennifermarohasy.com/coralreefs/
One study counted 512 out of 950 reefs (54%) surveyed as severely bleached, mostly in the northern section. How long can this be sustained?
https://www.ecowatch.com/great-barrier-reef-could-be-dead-in-20-years-1891128885.html
https://joannenova.com.au/2021/03/all-reefs-look-dead-from-a-plane-great-barrier-reef-still-alive-underwater/
https://joannenova.com.au/2020/01/busted-reef-fish-arent-bothered-by-acidification-scientific-fraud-ok-at-james-cook-uni/
Year 2021 This is very serious!
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/australian-scientists-sound-alarm-on-ecosystem-collapse-20210226-p5762n.html
This is absurd. Panic driven action all based on made up panic…. this is how Socialist gain and control people… make up a panic scenario or divide people on arbitrary lines (race, gender, social status, etc) then pretend to have the answer but people have to give up freedoms to get ‘saved.’ Then, come control.
well said
? They try to avoid “panic” situations. And despite their political ideas, I don’t see where they propose to “give up freedoms”. If we fix problems, we get more freedom to do non-problem stuff.
Larsson
You said, “If we fix problems, we get more freedom to do non-problem stuff.” That is true ONLY if the ‘fixes’ themselves don’t result in, or come about by, forcing lifestyle changes such as banning long-range ICE cars, and making people depend on unreliable energy sources. Once gasoline cars are banned, will there be enough, affordable gasoline to power recreational boats?
It is easy to envisage a future of utter horror….dwindling resources….fighting for control of what is left….and destruction of most of what remains….at best survival of a few groups of humans in remote places.
Can we learn from such a dreadful prospect? Can we dodge the encircling fires? Can we create a route map to a better future? Time to think positive and plan positive NOW!
We have to workout a sustainable strategy for life on Earth in the C21st. The Discovery of natural resources, learning how to a exploit them for our consumption in the C20th and only a slow understanding of the effects of these processes on the ecology of the planet has to be acknowledged so we can assess the impact and determine what is right to rebalance life pattern and structures for the planet. It means co-operation amongst all peoples and respecting each other together with the other species we share the planet with so we can meet the challenge. Life has always been this precarious however no mores so than now and especially as we have the skills, creativity, and technology to respond it will be a real test of our humanity and a species.
Their stupid plan to create panic is failing to fool people with two brain cells, the sad thing is that innocent people just swallow everything they are told.
The fact of the matter is that is good to make a transition to a more sustainable future, but having panic driven actions will ensure failure from the start.
Governments around the world will start to push insane measures, DO NOT ALLOW
? They try to avoid “panic” situations.
“… counteraction now is too costly to be politically palatable.
As I read the claims, the essence of the problem is too many people making demands on the resources of Earth. Even the alleged “Climate Emergency” would be reduced if there were fewer people. So, who among those crying “Wolf!” would be willing to step up and volunteer to reduce the population, starting with themselves? It is more than political palatability! It is a moral crisis that few would be willing to address by making the ultimate personal sacrifice. That is, to “walk the talk!” If, tomorrow, someone announced that they had solved the problem of controlled thermonuclear fusion, and we could immediately stop using fossil fuels, it wouldn’t address the rest of the list of problems, which are fundamentally demands on the land and resources to provide those living with more than a subsistence living.
Then there is the question if a “sustainable future,” as envisioned by these ‘saviors,’ means a life style that is so impoverished that many would consider life not worth living. That would help solve the problem.
Incidentally, Ehrlich has a history of making predictions that have not come to pass. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_R._Ehrlich
There is nothing alleged about man made global warming and its bad effects – that is a small part of the facts that they base their opinion on.
But as for the rest, they have their “perspective” opinion and other have theirs. At least they published theirs.
As professional academics they have a privileged position for getting published, even when people like Ehrlich have a demonstrated history of being wrong.
It’s not logical to ignore the obvious signs of species depletion, increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, environmental degradation, the list goes on.It’s in the interests of those who seek short term profits to tread the earth like a wrecking ball, with complete disregard to what they leave behind. The rapid depletion of the Amazonian rain forest is one of the best examples of greedy, corrupt people who will keep destroying their habitat without any regard for for what’s left when their level of greed is reached.
Michael
You have a tenuous grasp of reality. People can make a living selling the wood that other people want. Once the land is cleared, other people can farm it. If there are people that want the wood and food to live, where are they going to get it if not from virgin wilderness? Greed is an ugly word. However, it isn’t greed to try to make a living. It might be short-sighted to survive by removing resources that can’t be replaced. However, for many of the uneducated people living in Brazil, they only look to where they next mean is coming from. It isn’t in the same category as drug cartels that supply addictive drugs to people who don’t need it to survive, and care not at all what it does to the users or their families. (Or the environmental damage done in growing plants the drugs are made from.) That is greed! If you have ever smoked a joint, then you share culpability for making greed profitable — no matter how much you rail against other things you disapprove of, such as eating to survive. The world is full of hypocrites!
You are evil, just plain deluded evil, the VERY NEAT future is all the proof I need, but even when your life is ruined by our self-destructive greed, you will still say it is all OK, right?
Don’t worry.
President Camacho will handle everything…
This is so much bulls**t… The people who believe this garbage should be sectioned!
? Are you threatening violence?
There is nothing wrong with the observed facts, but a “perspective” piece is just their opinion.
To the doubters: whatever helps you sleep at night. See you on the other side, you soft pea brained infants.
because name calling and insults prove your p[oint so well…IDIOT!!!!
Evidently it did ‘prove’ something, since you agree on the method.
Is this from ‘The Onion’?
the ONION has standards…..
ABSILUTE HOGWASH!!!
correction!!! ABSOLUTE HOGWASH!!!
ja whataverage..
Poor Devil..?!
80-90% of the humans on planet earth need to go….too many people on this planet is killing it, FACT!!!! VOLUNTEERS????
“Peak population” is coming whether or not you want it. The trick is too keep feeding people during it. But I wouldn’t worry too much, since the population projections are iffy.
Man made global warming on the other hand is a serious problem, which is reflected in the observations they select for basing their opinion.
“Man made global warming on the other hand is a serious problem, …”
Which is your opinion.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/04/26/failed-climate-predictions/
https://nypost.com/2021/04/24/obama-admin-scientist-says-climate-emergency-is-based-on-fallacy/
Another opinion.
A “perspective” opinion piece is just that, which is why there is so much to quibble about (outside of the fact findings on nature). But it is good that they put theirs on paper.
A brief look into the comments will tell you all that you need to know. Mankind will not change its ways and it will destroy the Earth as predicted. All that matters is this quarter’s profits.
Nikki your the only one with a brain mankind is CONDEMED and so is the ground he walks on and what God has done no man can UNDO there chasing after wind
Yes, indeed. I was going to make the same point. The lunatic morons here spouting gibberish, quoting the opinion of other morons like Watts, in a perfect circle-jerk to justify their continued ‘right’ to trash the planet. While people like that continue to deny reality, we’re unlikely to make any progress.
‘Homo sapiens sapiens’ needs to be renamed ‘homo fatuus brutus’.
I believe that I’m the only commenter that has provided a link to Watts’ website. It is not quoting an opinion of Watts; it is instead something written by a guest author who I suspect has more credentials than you will ever acquire. It does not reflect well on you when you insult others you disagree with and demonstrate that you don’t know what you are talking about. It is about as biased as one can get to offer opinions that have no basis in fact. Why should anyone take your opinion seriously when you obviously have no regard for truth.
End of the world hysterics have been a constant theme from academia since the 1960’s. And, of course, none of their predictions have come true (from global cooling, to mass starvation due to loss of tillable land, to a shortage of fossil fuels). The earth is a remarkably robust planet and, during its 3.7 billion year history of hosting life, has seen far more severe conditions than anything the authors are talking about. And to suggest that the profit-motive is responsible is, quite simply, laughable. Free market economies have done a far better job of “protecting the planet” than have statist governments.
Wow, lotza denial. The comforting lie beats the bracing truth every time. Anyone who looks at the world and says everything’s gonna be fine should send me what they’ve been smoking.
All forms of trafficking
Money laundering
Currency manipulation
Assassination
Wars
Neo-Colonization
Mineral conflicts wars
Central banks & currency wars
Government wars
Genocide
& the deterioration of an entire planets psychological health thus biological state is the root of environmental degradation
Chase manhattan Bank
(Rockerfellers Bank)
Bank of America
(Rothschilds Bank)
Goldman sachs,
Citi group,
Halliburton
Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon,
IBM,
Boeing,
General Dynamics,
General Electric
Exxon Mobil, (Rockerfeller)
Bp,
Royal Dutch Shell,
Black water (Mercenary company)
(Global assassination squads)
All profit from war & environmental catastrophes.
They all also own Hilary, Obama & Trump & all 3 branches of gov,
These entities pay for their campaigns & launder their money tax & interest free)
Thus these banks & corporations put their advisors in government offices to advised executive decisions that manipulate society to self destructive behaviors.
Gov & corporations ,
created by credit banks ,
that come from colonizer kings & Queens economic systems,
create industrial, privatization hierarchies &
corruption fronts that create pyramid societies that create
mass war death suffering & comfort
for all the citizens inside an extortionist, closed system of controlled production
& manipulation of both human & mechanical energy for the benefit of a tiny elite, that horde resources profits & use human labor to serve their purposes & needs, is a political & economic system that needs to evolve & change beyond capital & communistic paradigms.
The root of the worlds problems are centralized, corrupt,
extortionist heirarchies.
This may sound silly but, Perhaps it’s the trees or lack there of that’s destroying the very texture of earth. Less nature more architectur, could that be the real cause of mass extinctions?
Its not just cutting trees but also mining for resources, strip mining, oil spills, nuclear waste in oceans, wars, pipelines, concrete steel & glass, garbage waste, too much production & consumption, also play a huge role
An astute observation. Therefore, I suppose you live in a sod hut, walk everywhere, don’t own jewelry, and only wear clothes made from animals or natural fibers, and hunt for or grow all your own food. And you butcher your game with flint knives.
If you are not the solution, then you are part of the problem.
I still can’t find an environmentalist that’s willing to cut their own damned carbon footprint to a level they deem sustainable. They just want everyone else to do it.
Reading the comments I realize as one scientist put it ” we ate effed” edited for public.
The nutty Trumpsters think climate change is fake, but baby eating is real. OMG!
We are in the midst of a pandemic that is itself an effect of our changing environment, and they still think it is about politics!
It is just so sad that people refuse to face reality, we do not have time for squabbling over politics. The thing people seem to forget. The longer we wait the more drastic the needed changes will be. If we start now we can slowly change over time…but we live in a time when some people think it is”patriotic” to violently attack our Government and beat Police with our Flag on a pole.
How do we convince those idiots that climate change is real, when they don’t even know whatvPatriotism is, some of these idiots even swore an oath to Protect our Nation! And they still think their actions were patriotic! Sad.
“… we do not have time for squabbling over politics.”
Yet, the first thing that you do is to bring up politics in your reference to “Trumpsters!” Hypocrite!
It seems ironic to me that people don’t see or believe that the human consumption and expansion in the world is not effecting our planet. I have lived on this earth for sixty plus years and in the last 20 years you can see a noticeable change in weather bird migration and species that have disappeared I have spent the better part of my life in the outdoors from cal.to eastern Montana the changes have been drastic and also heart breaking realizing that what our grandkids are inheriting we need to remove are blinders and come to some solutions
S
That is the backstory for firefly.
Nasa had better gwt a move 9n.
Ever since there were people, there were folk running around screaming “the world is coming to an end”. And every single time they said “this time it’s different, this time we know more, this time it’s really going to happen”.
Next.
As long as 45% of Americans are afflicted with narcissism and are deluded by Dunning Kruger syndrome (people who are ignorant and who don’t know what they don’t know) like some of the below posts, our children have no future and the human race will indeed go extinct. This is war not a political debate. Look at Kanye West’s and Trump’s wasteful, carbon heavy mansions…half the rooms inside empty, yet they are emitting 100x the carbon of an average home. The big mansions, wasteful keep up with Jones homes,and the big 10 mpg Chevy trucks that American narcissists drive(who do no actual work with them) must be outlawed and must go for starters. Time for people to get strong and fight to save humanity and their very own children’s future.
“… must be outlawed and must go for starters.”
I completely agree that the solution to our problems is a strong dictator who will do what is best for us, whether we approve or not! Freedom just leads to people worrying about themselves, and their families, and their offspring, and their friends.
You can explain it to them, but you can’t understand it for them.
The good news is that the energy industry is rapidly transitioning to renewables, because they’re cheaper.
“… the energy industry is rapidly transitioning to renewables, because they’re cheaper.”
That sounds like either wishful thinking, or purposeful propaganda. Do you have any reliable citations to support that claim?
Anyone here that claims climate change is a hoax has no business expressing that view if they have no education in the sciences, doesn’t understand the scientific method, and hasn’t kept up with the scientific literature over the past 20 years because your opinion is one of ignorance and means nothing.
I’m not waiting around for someone else to do something about climate change. I’ve decided not to have kids, became a vegetarian, purchased wind power for my condo, and took myself off the more, more, more treadmill and will happily stay put in my 1200 sq. ft. condo. Looking forward to buying my first electric car!
“Anyone here that claims climate change is a hoax has no business expressing that view if they have no education in the sciences, doesn’t understand the scientific method, and hasn’t kept up with the scientific literature over the past 20 years because your opinion is one of ignorance and means nothing.”
You just expressed an opinion about a scientific issue. Do you have an education in the sciences, have you kept up with the literature, and do you realize that the essence of the Scientific Method is to be skeptical of claims? After more than 100 years, scientists are still testing Einstein’s theories!
You all have so much to say about things you really don’t know anything about. Open your eyes for once in your lives. Look around you pay attention to your world. There is do much changing, our earth is falling apart and people being blind to it isn’t going to help.you have herd the warning for so long yet no one cares. You will when the s**t hits the fan. Leaving pain ,heart ake total districting all around the world, jokes on all of the stupid people who remain in there own world blind to life we will be extinct when everything is said and done
Lol imagine your life on venus it’s like 500 degrees and the heavy atmosphere will crush you into a meatball. Storms on lifeless planets can last thousands of years and be unimaginably devastating. You are very lucky to live on a life stable planet, there aren’t many in the universe. It took around 3-5 billion years for life to develop on earth and has altered the conditions so that humans could evolve. We are in the perfect spot relative to the sun and have just the right amount of oxygen co2 and nitrogen to support humans. Destroying this balance while destroying the life that creates that balance is just plain suicidal.
The oil industry provides very few jobs compared to just about anything else and just a handful of people get rich while the planet suffers. The cost of restoring damage done by this industry far outweighs the profits any of these companies ever made. Either way, solid state batteries are almost in production and should end oils dominance in the automotive sector by around 2030. The costs associated with oil and the environment will likely be very high so the sooner the better.
You overlook the value of fossil fuels to those who are not getting rich on them. In the advanced countries, with affordable access to fossil fuels, we have an unprecedented life expectancy with relatively few children dying of childhood diseases. We have a standard of living that would have made kings from 200 years ago envious. We have a mobility that no emperor of Rome could match, despite his personal power over life and death. We have solved the human desire to fly, thanks to fossil fuels. We have instant social communications that even 100 years ago couldn’t have been imagined.
You don’t appreciate how well you have it, nor do you seem to understand what has made it possible.
Yeah but in 3-4 years it will all be gone. Fossil fuels are not sustainable. Humanity committed ecocide with fossil fuels. When humans began using fossil fuels they did not assess the risks. Stupid mistake. When warned by Dr. Carl Sagan and Dr. James Hansen in 1987, the American Congress did not act. Instead, they drilled for more oil. The USA became falsely powerful using fossil fuels to fuel its military. In trying to gain power and security, the USA created intense insecurity, suffering, and death for the human race. There is nothing good or redeeming about fossil fuels. In 2-4 years, you will personally know full well what I am saying.
Yep, US coastal flooding, CA drought and massive wildfires, increased intensity and frequency of Atlantic hurricanes, worldwide drought, TX freezes, Arctic high temperature records, Australia temperature extremes, Antarctic ice depletion, etc., etc., etc.; are just “hysterical nonsense” promoted by the scientific community, which is only interested in securing additional funding! STFU!
Absolutely important to begin with gratitude for what we have and where we’ve come from. Fossil fuels have accelerated the human standard of living at an insanely rapid pace and we are all so very blessed to have been born at this time in human history compared to even just a couple centuries ago as Clyde mentioned.
What we’re now coming to understand (through our global scientific community), is that humans have become a geologic force; we’re changing the chemistry of the oceans and altering our global temperature, not to mention the fact that plastic has become part of the water cycle to name just a few.
But for me, I’d rather not debate facts vs. opinions. Instead, let’s start with values. Do you think this is the best human beings can be? Creating waste and destruction via an economic growth model that exploits a finite supply of resources?
I like the idea of creating things that last, fixing things when they’re broken, and I’m happier with less stuff as experiences are the things I tend to remember. I will keep working towards a lighter existence and talk to all people with respect wherever they are coming from because these are some of my values. What are yours?
I agree that things could be better. The problem is HOW to improve things. For starters, it is important to know ALL the facts and not be sidetracked by poorly supported claims that don’t encompass all the facts. So-called anthropogenic global warming (AGW), and its claimed associated ‘evils,’ has become like a Hobby Horse for most, who uncritically accept claims from grant seekers and political ideologues.
Churchill famously said that “Democracy is a terrible form of government — but it is the best that we have been able to find in 2,000 years.” The same might be said about capitalism. All the other economies that have been tried have failed to provide on the promises. And, in the case of former Soviet Russia, created some of the worst pollution the world has ever experienced. Yet, because capitalism has problems, many are willing reject it outright, instead of tuning it, and go back to other economic systems that have demonstrated that they are worse! That is insanity.
You claim that we are changing the chemistry of the ocean. This is an example of what is wrong with the discussion. The statement is false, and supported only by exaggerations and the willful invention of new definitions that go against the practice of chemistry. The historical record of ocean pH has been ignored in favor of a model that supports the claim of an average 0.1 pH decrease in the last century. Daily changes from evaporation routinely exceed that. For more detail, see the following:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/09/15/are-the-oceans-becoming-more-acidic/
Similarly, there are problems with your claim that humans are “altering the global temperature.” The claim of AGW is mostly based on meteorological and aeronautical temperature measurements that are unfit for the purpose of determining the amount of historical change. Attempts are made to compensate for the shortcomings by mathematically unjustified manipulations of the time-series. My own personal opinion is that while there is probably a small contribution to warming from fossil fuel-derived CO2, most of the apparent warming is contamination of the data from urban heat island effects, and other land use changes such as removing forests to grow food.
If our facts are wrong, and political decisions are made based on falsehoods, then we stand the risk of making things worse.
Clyde I like this conversation, I sense mutual respect which is important if we humans are to get to the “how” we will change things.
Regarding capitalism, it must reward resource sustainability/regeneration and not extraction/pollution or at least punish polluters. A global economic system that awards short term profits while creating long-term liabilities is flawed.
Regarding AGW and ocean acidification, you clearly have a deep knowledge of chemistry and oceanography etc. which is really special. The climate science field is international and includes thousands of peer-reviewed studies, they are all wrong? But more importantly, should it even matter? Again back to values. The shear amount of poison (derived primarily from fossil fuels- including agro-chemicals, automotive pollutants/fumes, and plastic to name a few) that we are putting into our oceans and land is staggering.
Providing every person on this planet with the basic necessities including shelter, food, clean water and basic education and doing so in a way that doesn’t reduce forests, pollute waterways, and reduce biodiversity is totally possible.
Of course how comes up again. Certainly distributing power in a more equitable way would be a good start. Indigenous land management practices could help provide a basis for how to protect our resources along with a deeper gratitude and reverence for nature. There must be an understanding in the western world that nature has provided us everything we’ve needed to progress this fast and we must protect, preserve, and respect it or what is the point of any of this? We humans have the ability to consider the past and the future. What a gift! Will we use it?
I look forward to your response and continuing to deepen into this important conversation.
Well my husband and I chose to have 1 child; she has had only one child. Other family members had two or more. No one forced us to make this decision. My husband had 10 brothers and sisters and I had one brother. In their times, children were their social security. 50 years ago,according to the “National Observer”, a publication of the Wall Street Journal, a child in the developed world used 30 % more than a child in the undeveloped world which helped us to decide. Also, my husband was the next to the oldest and had quite enough of child care and privation and he also didn’t want anymore. It made our lives more livable and enabled us to volunteer for our causes as well as give resources to charitable organizations. I stayed home and raised, canned, froze almost everything we ate. He worked in the city and commuted. Now people are being chided for not have enough children to create growth. Go figure!
You chose to bring children into a dying world. They will only suffer and live short lives. You did not think of your children when you conceived. You were only thinking of your own happiness. This is a selfish decision. Now you will pay by witnessing awful suffering of your children and you will be powerless to do anything about it. Good luck.
Many of the posters here are completely delusional and live with false hope. They won’t be prepared in 2-3 years when the climate and civilization collapse…as they are doing right now.
8/15/22- Europe is 100% in severe drought and wet bulb conditions, and so is the USA and many other parts of the world that depend on Europe and the USA for food. The ability of humans to grow, store, and transport food is quickly disappearing. Fresh water is disappearing. Yet, delusional, apathetic individuals think they are going to continue business as usual and survive. Haha. You have not read the science or done the math if you believe you will be alive in 5 years. In 3-4 years, there won’t be another human being standing on Earth.
With the state of what the world has become maybe a complete reset wouldnt be such a bad thing. Humanity has lost its way. Too much greed and stupidity on this planet
Providing every person on this planet with the basic necessities including shelter, food, clean water and basic education and doing so in a way that doesn’t reduce forests, pollute waterways, and reduce biodiversity is totally possible.
Couldn’t agree more with this commonsense story. Sadly there is not much common sense in this world today.