Like the rest of our world, South America has not been immune to the ravaging effects of climate change. A quick scan of the morning news reveals numerous climate related stories including drought, flooding, wild fires, extreme temperatures and massive storms of every category. Obviously, this is our new norm. Unfortunately, many of those acknowledging these changes are unwilling to place the blame on humans. They claim it’s just another cycle and lean on historical examples as evidence. These types of people are typically business focused, oil friendly and/or rapacious consumers of the western world. To further their argument, they point to the technology gods as an antidote and our ultimate savior.
OK, let's try and break this down with facts and data that’s apolitical and in the spirit of finding common ground. After all, this isn’t about the value of a proposed social program - it’s about our ability to survive and thrive on the only habitat we’ve got.
First and foremost. Yes, obviously climate does cycle and and has from the beginning of time. That’s why ice migrated and occupied all corners of the earth and previous forested areas are now deserts. But those were macro cycles taking millions of years to complete and irrelevant to the unprecedented rate of change we are experiencing today. Again, the operative phrase is ‘rate of change’. Nothing has come close within the geological timeline of recorded data.
In a rational world, this is where the argument would end. The rate of change is measurable and can be directly traced to the early years of industrialization during the later part of the 17th century. Not rocket science nor magic, just a common sense conclusion based on indisputable numbers. But for the sake of argument, let’s ignore the obvious and side with the oil companies. Assuming all of this is just a random climate cycle and completely unrelated to the previous 260 years of industrial pollution, how could anyone deny the following data within the context of our current situation:
Deforestation - Every minute, forests the size of 20 football fields are cut down. This is essentially cutting the lungs out of patient who is responsible for keeping 8 billion people alive.
Loss of Biodiversity - The population of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians has been reduced by 68% over the past 50 years. More than 500 species of land animals are on the brink of extinction and we'll probably lose most of them within 20 years. The same number were lost over the whole of the last century. If they go, who do you think is next?
Insect Apocolypse - More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. No insects means no pollination and no food. Its that simple folks!
Top Soil Erosion - More than 68 million tons of topsoil are eroded every year at a rate that's one hundred times faster than the natural rate of replenishment. Currently the world population sits around 7.5 billion with an additional billion added every decade, With this rate of destruction vs. growth, how are we going to feed the planet?
Air Pollution - An estimated 4.2 to 7 million people die from air pollution every year and nine out of ten people breathe air that contains high levels of pollutants. The last I checked, breathing was required to live.
Ocean Acidification - The oceans have become 30 percent more acidic during the past 200 years. That's faster than any time in the previous 50 million years. Ocean acidification has a destructive affect on its food source and the growth of plankton which is essential to the production of oxygen.
I could go on but you get my point.
As the saying goes - "You can deny reality but you can’t deny the consequences of denying reality." And when it comes to the very habitat we rely upon for survival, are you really willing to take that bet? Simply stated, infinite growth on a finite planet is not possible.
Let me put it another way, one that most deniers can relate. How are you, Mr. Businessman, going to buy and sell on a planet that’s not habitable? And for those technological sycophants who believe their lords of the digital age are about to complete the ultimate ‘Hail Mary’, I’ll leave you with the following quote:
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
Albert Einstein
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