Not enough
Ordinarily I would never accuse someone of not doing enough, not being good enough or thorough enough. Doing so would only make me a hypocrite. However, in this instance I am going to ignore my hypocrisy.
Humanity is not doing enough. We have made immense changes to this planet, to the functioning of natural systems and, besides those we have already driven to extinction, we have jeopardized the future of countless species, including our own. The laundry list of our sins against life on earth is rather long but I will start with just one: anthropogenic climate change.
Yep, it is happening people. The predictions based on early data and harbingers of doom were out there long before Al Gore took his show on the road. I remember learning about the potential impacts of greenhouse gas emissions principally those generated by burning of fossil fuels way back in my high school biology class. I also learned that fossil fuels were a limited commodity. It was even in my text book. That's in the early 1980's. As a teenager, although I was concerned, I thought the grownups would take care of this. They didn't.
Thus, it seems clear that folks recognized a while back that human society based on fossil fuel reserves was not sustainable and would have some nasty side effects and some of them thought it was important enough to teach the next generation about it, my generation. But, there wasn't enough hype to motivate people to change. And obviously my generation didn't pay much attention in high school because we haven't really done much about this problem and have continued on our merry way burning our way through the debris of the Carboniferous Period just as our parents and grandparents did.
All the while evidence continues to mount in support of a massive shift in world climate as a consequence of human activities. What does this mean for humanity and life on earth? It is almost incomprehensible. A two degree increase in global temperature doesn't seem so bad, and maybe folks who live in colder climates think that's alright. But (and this is a big BUT) a two degree change (if it ends up being that small I will be surprised) will have a huge impact on just about EVERYTHING. Many of these changes and impacts will occur in MY lifetime. I am going to have to adapt, not just my child or my 'potential' grandchildren but ME. I can't even visualize it.
Current evidence suggests that within 50 years ice sheets will melt, at least in part, and sea levels will rise enough to change global geography. While it might be nice to think that we will have new opportunities to buy ocean front property, this rise in sea level will displace millions of people in the US alone. Governments worldwide are having trouble managing the migrants and refugees fleeing Syria and other parts of the world. What is it going to be like to have people worldwide doing the same thing; looking for a safe place to lay their head, raise their family and eat? Economies, food supply, transportation will all be disrupted. For example, it will be hard to land a plane at JFK International or LAX airport if the tarmac is under water.
Rising sea levels will make some islands uninhabitable leading to the disintegration of entire cultures. Sea water encroachment in fresh water supplies will limit the availability of fresh water for drinking let alone the water for washing the family SUV, watering the prized roses, or running water features in the backyard. The impacts are limitless...
Even after all the hype in the developed nations, the talk about it at the UN, the high level pacts, agreements, and treaties, human behavior and our trajectory hasn't changed much.
So, here I speak in judgement.
We have not done enough. We are not doing enough. I don't think we will do enough to change this.
Humanity and all the other living residents of Earth will have to adapt or die and die out. I too am guilty by my action, inaction and association.
It is not sufficient to absolve responsibility for this to say, "Sorry". Whom do I say it to? Will the other life forms on earth understand my remorse. I believe I must do something and yet I feel insignificant and powerless. As one of billions who face a changing world, I don't know where to begin.
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| A flowering yucca at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. |
Yep, it is happening people. The predictions based on early data and harbingers of doom were out there long before Al Gore took his show on the road. I remember learning about the potential impacts of greenhouse gas emissions principally those generated by burning of fossil fuels way back in my high school biology class. I also learned that fossil fuels were a limited commodity. It was even in my text book. That's in the early 1980's. As a teenager, although I was concerned, I thought the grownups would take care of this. They didn't.
Thus, it seems clear that folks recognized a while back that human society based on fossil fuel reserves was not sustainable and would have some nasty side effects and some of them thought it was important enough to teach the next generation about it, my generation. But, there wasn't enough hype to motivate people to change. And obviously my generation didn't pay much attention in high school because we haven't really done much about this problem and have continued on our merry way burning our way through the debris of the Carboniferous Period just as our parents and grandparents did.
All the while evidence continues to mount in support of a massive shift in world climate as a consequence of human activities. What does this mean for humanity and life on earth? It is almost incomprehensible. A two degree increase in global temperature doesn't seem so bad, and maybe folks who live in colder climates think that's alright. But (and this is a big BUT) a two degree change (if it ends up being that small I will be surprised) will have a huge impact on just about EVERYTHING. Many of these changes and impacts will occur in MY lifetime. I am going to have to adapt, not just my child or my 'potential' grandchildren but ME. I can't even visualize it.
Current evidence suggests that within 50 years ice sheets will melt, at least in part, and sea levels will rise enough to change global geography. While it might be nice to think that we will have new opportunities to buy ocean front property, this rise in sea level will displace millions of people in the US alone. Governments worldwide are having trouble managing the migrants and refugees fleeing Syria and other parts of the world. What is it going to be like to have people worldwide doing the same thing; looking for a safe place to lay their head, raise their family and eat? Economies, food supply, transportation will all be disrupted. For example, it will be hard to land a plane at JFK International or LAX airport if the tarmac is under water.
Rising sea levels will make some islands uninhabitable leading to the disintegration of entire cultures. Sea water encroachment in fresh water supplies will limit the availability of fresh water for drinking let alone the water for washing the family SUV, watering the prized roses, or running water features in the backyard. The impacts are limitless...
Even after all the hype in the developed nations, the talk about it at the UN, the high level pacts, agreements, and treaties, human behavior and our trajectory hasn't changed much.
So, here I speak in judgement.
We have not done enough. We are not doing enough. I don't think we will do enough to change this.
Humanity and all the other living residents of Earth will have to adapt or die and die out. I too am guilty by my action, inaction and association.
It is not sufficient to absolve responsibility for this to say, "Sorry". Whom do I say it to? Will the other life forms on earth understand my remorse. I believe I must do something and yet I feel insignificant and powerless. As one of billions who face a changing world, I don't know where to begin.
