Cloud Cuckoo Land: October 2019

How do we live with ourselves?

Whether we like it or not there is compelling evidence that we are in the time of the Sixth mass extinction of life on this planet.

Ok so life did eventually make it back and here we are as evidence of that, but is anything notably different now?

I offer here a chance to investigate some of the arguments that have inspired me to look further into this and much of the conclusion it has helped me to reach in this regard.

The science:

For many years now, in fact many decades well informed and educated people, scientists and researchers have been intimating that there have been and will be significant evidences that human beings are directly impacting on the natural world, our environments and the ecosystems long since established and performing across the globe. Not simply a mild disregard for the planet but a biological and environmental catastrophe with as yet unprecedented scale whilst human beings live on the earth.
In late 2018 the United Nations’ IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) published the findings of their investigations and research done by the worlds leading climate scientists. In short the appraisal of that investigation made several key and fundamental points, which are:- We have a very small window of opportunity to begin to take the problem seriously and act. That we are already suffering from the lack of action in previous generations and may not be able to avoid predicted rises that are already locked in from earlier carbon dioxide rises. Peer reviews of over 6000 works gave the panel a lot to consider, but their conclusions do not specify whether we would be able to stop completely the effects, simply that if we fail to act immediately the outcomes will mean almost certain death to millions if not billions of people alive today.

The extent of the problem:

It seems that every aspect of our lives, the conventions of business as usual in regard to the exploitation of the planets resources, the way we will be able to feed ourselves and heat and power our homes are going to have to be looked at. The way we travel, the structures of employment and the thirst for more material abundance have got to be seriously considered as a matter of grave urgency if we are collectively to avoid mass starvation, disease and poverty and the extinction of animals, plants, creatures and micro organisms. In fact it is conservatively estimated that millions of people and billions of animals will be displaced by the effects of sea level rise as a direct result of global warming. Mass migration to higher ground will inevitable stretch the sustainability of maintaining the current levels of earth wide population in ways we have yet to properly consider. But the inalienable truth seems to be that massive suffering and loss of life will result in the face of this expected sea level change caused by the globally higher temperatures melting the polar ice caps. Added to which if the Gulf Stream becomes interrupted the speed at which these changes occur will be compounded and create exponential alterations to the math on which the IPCC climate report is based.

What will be lost:

The ability to sustain life for the current population of nearly 7.5 Billion people. Millions of plant and animal species that rely on the geography of their habitats, the relatively stable (until now) global temperatures of the past thousands of years. Coral reefs, jungles and rain forests, grazing lands and productive arable land for feeding human beings. Fish that live in colder water will have to move and then the effectiveness of the global food chain will collapse. And after all of this the struggles introduced will inevitably lead to a breakdown of the fabric of society and if the climate doesn’t kill us the uncooperative and selfish attitude to follow will. I don’t say this lightly and without fear of causing distress, I have merely joined the dots to consider the full ramifications of, inaction on a massive scale.

Who is causing this problem:

In short we all are. However some people, mainly those that sympathise with the Neo-liberal ideologies and exploit the planet and others are the main cause. Capitalism who’s stated goal is to maximise profit above any other motive is the leading factor in this degradation of the planet. It’s ability to externalise all of its negative behaviour and make everyone else to blame is the most obvious offender. In fact anyone or thing that disregards the well-being of the planet and all life on earth are the cause of this. Let’s not beat about the bush, we need individual responsibility and collaboration on scales as yet never the like of seen in the modern age or recorded history.

What is causing the problem:

The behavioural patterns of human beings is by far and away the most clear contributor to the climate emergency. The rises in carbon emissions through things such as air transport, road building, the continued burning of fossil fuels for heating and energy, the wasting of massive amounts of energy produced by creating the ‘Luxuries' of the western world which then become so easily discarded and go into landfill. Ineffective single use initiatives for resources, dairy, livestock and factory farming of animals for food. Fashion, lavish lifestyle choices, a lack of ability to share community and services, overwork and under valuing of human labour are all contributors to the threat we face. In the developed world the greed and corruption has never been so rife amongst those involved in governance as it is today. A seeming inability to empathise with the suffering of others and a denial that those activities cause both direct and or indirect suffering through exploitation .

Who needs to do something:

Every living human being with the capacity to do something has the obligation to make changes however small to show solidarity with this cause. And then to inspire and or engage others in the discussions around the crisis until such time as there exists no existential threat. In truth however the biggest action is needed from those corporations who’s practices are directly damaging to the fabric of the planet, fresh water, soil quality, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. The top 100 companies in the world are the cause of over 70% of all of the pollution and GGGE in our atmosphere.

Best case scenarios:

We fight to make the case, everyone listens, engages in personal edification of the facts, acts on that and the threat currently faced is averted.

This is likely not to occur given the ignorance of the past several hundreds of years and the lack of understanding of the structure of life on earth as a symbiosis with each element. The failure to have considered with any seriousness the inevitability of taking supposed infinite amounts of resource from a finite resourced planet was crucial in determining where we have now arrived. In other words a selective ignorance about the mathematics to aid exploitation without culpability.

Worst case scenarios:

The carbon emissions continue unabated, global temperatures rise, sea levels rise, crop failure becomes global and the water and land is so polluted we cannot feed from them. Everyone and everything dies or is destroyed. It may not be that simple but we’ve never taken the abuse of the planet this far. So it could indeed be this simple. Extinction of vast swathes of life on this planet and a climate inhospitable for human beings.