Anthropogenic Climate Change as depressing as it might be, the outlook of a cataclysmic yet anti-climactic ending of a lot of species spurs me on a quest to find solutions. Really Mathijs, are you telling me that you, an un-acclaimed an uncertified nobody, thinks about worldly solutions? Yes I do... Why? Because they occupy my mind, because I care about my family, especially my children. I love nature and the idea that we are destroying it, while we ourselves are dependent on it, makes me very angry. I also think a lot about worldly solutions because I think that humanity should be doing cool stuff right now. You know conducting experiments at the LHC, building ITER, trying to make sense of nature, helping one and other, having a good time, performing in the arts, engage in sports, go into space... We make up or own meaning, this is very important, because other than being, life has no meaning.
The fight against "ACC" is a fight of life and death. Basically I don't like the notion that we are precipitating extinctions, cataclysms and Armageddon. The Arctic Death Spiral, a phrase coined by several climate experts, is the single most dangerous threat to life existing on Earth. Once this spiral reaches zero, we're bound to set off the most potent bomb ever to be seen on Earth, the bomb of in permafrost sequestered methane. Now I'm quite clear about our chances to avert this catastrophe, I avidly advocate the most efficient solution, we need heavy hitters and plenty of them. Just try to imagine the stupefying amount of energy we use on a daily basis, this amount is going to grow... No matter how much energy conservation we would apply.
Think about the transition from combustible transportation to battery electric vehicles, think about massive desalination efforts, about implementing a state of the art nuclear innovation industry, seriously mitigating the use of single use containers, learning how to capture heat from computing, try to become more provident with meat, massive reforestation, you name it...
Parallel to building the "heavy hitting" energy fail safe we have to acknowledge the harm we do to nature, the vast nullification of forests and other types of land. We have to start reversing these destructive processes. Axes, saws and chainsaws have to be laid aside, decommissioned if you will. Trees keep our air breathable, trees are an important part of the carbon- and hydrological cycle. Deforestation has to be reversed and reversed significantly. I think it is a very worth-while practice, it is far more valuable than many of us care to admit. We desperately need more trees, not less.
While we worry about "ACC" there is a multitude of different issues that have to be addressed as well. Let's have a look at the "humanistic" arm of the galactic thought-swirls in my head. I am not really a humanist, I don't think we're really that special amongst all the other wonderful species that inhabit the Earth but there are some elements which are. I think we are developing a lifestyle that is not good for humans in general. I would like to build a civilization in which we maximize human prosperity, happiness and fulfilment. A completely secular society with no bounds in expression, a society in which there's ample opportunity for everyone, there's great [religion free] education for everyone and top-notch medical care for everyone. Most importantly to implement the Jean-Luc Picard future, The star trek future, this future :
"The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century. The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we're all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane."
Think about it, we're all here on this beautiful blue sphere suspended somewhere in the Orion Spur of the Milky Way, an utterly insignificant yet beautiful planet, ours, the Earth. While we are here we work arduously to do what? Earn money? Have a great time? I'm afraid this is the reality for the most of us... We are captured in the mundane earthly squabbles of existence, of geopolitics, of capitalism, money drudgery, wage slavery and insignificance... You're caught in a rat race.
What would you really like to do? I know what I want to do, I want to make a profound difference! Think about it...
Have a nice day!
Where no man has (yet) gone
ReplyDeleteHi Mathijis.... 8-)
ReplyDeleteI am very much like you in my thinking, which is why I'm mostly concerned about over-population, which creates, drives or accelerates all the biosphere problems we face - although too many people are ignorant enough, self-serving enough, or scared enough to avoid or deny reality as we understand it so far.
Science is the only methodology that produces real, accurate results, never mind the immense knowledge that rational, freethinking inquiry has discovered - in spite of the centuries of power religions had to stifle anything not to their faithist, revealed god's liking.
I have greatly reduced my ecological footprint over the past 15 yrs, especially so since I retired in 2010, after 30 yrs as tech sales eng on the road, so my driving has reduced 90%, plus I live north of Toronto in a power-efficient 950sqft 2 bed ground level apartment, where I cook all my fresh food meals economically - I'm a good, local shopper, for anything.... 8-)
I still think more UK than CDA in my needs, since my home is bigger than when I was a kid in Scotland and our family of 5 had a smaller home, never mind my grandparents, who had 8 kids in a similar space in Clydebank between WW1 & WW2.
The big problem in Cda is that we're the #2 at 5x, behind the USA at 9x ecological carrying capacity, while Europe is back around 3.5. The fact is that 'we' in the advanced, consumptive, polluting 'west' have the biggest changes to make in our expectations if there is to be a major impact on global sustainability issues.
AGW is accelerating in response to our population explosion in the last 100 years - if our population had remained under 2-3 billion we'd have far more time & chance of tackling & avoiding AGW.
All other issues - from resource depletions, food chain disruptions to all manner of pollutions - are supercharged by there being 7 billion of us, while 'long-term' research shows we need a max of about 2 billion - but that's just too big a psychological deal when we can't get even our (personal to global) shit together on anything useful to all the biological creatures on our Pale Blue Dot....! J M Calder.