“It is notable that as these data records have grown longer and
climate models have become more comprehensive, earlier predictions have largely
been confirmed. The only real surprises have been that some changes, such as
sea level rise and Arctic sea ice decline, have outpaced earlier projections.”
--“Climate Change Impacts in the United States”, U.S. National
Climate Assessment, U.S. Global Change Research Program, page 2
We
have, naturally, written extensively before about global warming and its likely
impacts. And most people who find this
blog, whether intentionally or by accident, are likely to be of at least a
relatively scientific bent, meaning that the obvious truth of global warming is
taken, more or less, at face value.
There is legitimate debate in the scientific community over how quickly
the Earth is warming, or what particular tipping points may exist, and what
impacts will be felt where, and when, but there is no longer any legitimate
debate over the most basic of questions, “Is the Earth warming?”
There
are some interesting questions to be raised from a purely sociological
perspective, however, in recognizing the uncomfortable truth that not everyone
accepts the very real, very palpable fact that human activity is largely
responsible for changes to our climate which are both irreversible and
incomprehensible. Douglas Adams once
quipped that the last thing a human being needs is a true sense of perspective,
since our utter insignificance would destroy any individual ego if we ever felt
the full scope of it all at once. In
that context, it is perfectly natural that – in spite of overwhelming evidence
– any given human being would deny that we have, collectively, done
irreversible harm to the very ecosystems which allowed for our existence.
Enough
warning flags have been raised about potential disasters related to climate
change; we are not writing today to cause any more alarm. Instead, we would like to suggest some small
shifts in perspective which might be helpful to those who will find disaster
unfathomable, even as it occurs. The
truth is, our species is likely to survive global climate change, and some
members of our species, at the very least, are likely to thrive under whatever
conditions emerge at the other end of the change curve.
What
we are interested in is teaching people to care about the idea that we should
minimize the harm we are doing, and maximize the good we can share. Plain and simple, why don’t we all try to do
what will be of most benefit to the most people? Sounds simple… but it is a radical idea.
We
would like to interject at this point that we are not talking about some
utopian ideal. Socialism, communism,
fascism, libertarian capitalism… all of these economic and political ideologies
are based upon prima facie assumptions which are not founded in any kind of
scientific principle. And all are
inconsistent with the physical realities of human existence. No economic theory, after all, has ever been
formulated with the thought in mind that basic
economic activities in and of themselves have an impact on the viability of ecosystems.
The
basis of economics is exploitation, and we do not mean that in a pejorative
sense. It’s the simple truth – some raw
material is plundered, molded, and bartered in exchange for either another
manufactured good, or else for currency, which may then be used to purchase a
manufactured good. But all of it, every
last bit, begins with the extraction from nature of a raw material. Economics of
any ideological stripe are by nature at odds with the environment.
Slowly,
humanity has become aware of the impact this friction has imparted – crop
rotation, an invention of American farmers in the late 18th century,
is an example of an adaptation humans have made to a uniquely human-caused
problem, soil depletion. There are other
examples, and it is no accident that they come primarily from industries in
which humans exploit other life forms.
Forestry is largely the study of how to rejuvenate woods which have been
exploited for lumber. Fishery science
largely relates to management of fish populations exploited for human
consumption. Even the field of
microbiology is inundated with studies related to molds, bacteria and viruses
which have undergone wild evolutionary shifts due to human behavior.
So
– human beings are changing the world in ways we do not always immediately
perceive. Some of those changes have
consequences we would probably not have invited upon ourselves had we been
aware beforehand, but since it is too late now to remake those fateful first
choices, what ought we to do about it?
*Revisit
cosmological assumptions – most world religions (Buddhism being the most
notable exception) place humanity at the center of existence. Even historically, this makes little sense,
but it is especially narcissistic and asinine at a time when we know that the
universe has been expanding for 14
billion years, and that even if there are other self-aware beings elsewhere in
that vast, inconceivable void, we will likely (the laws of physics being what
they are) never encounter them. The
basic problem with most human religions is… the stage (aka “The Universe”) is
far too big for the drama (aka “our measly little human problems”). No offense to anyone, of course. We’re just not really that important,
universally speaking.
*Redefine
our values – note we do not say “change”; we must merely find a way to restate
our human values within a more realistic context. There is an almost universal moral aversion
to murder, for example. Perhaps we would
be better served by asking ourselves why
we share so many fundamental moral opinions.
In context of global warming… are there things we would not be doing if only we had the
perspective from which to see what impact they are having? Who would consciously buy a Hummer, for
example, if they realized that guzzling gas at a ridiculous 8 miles to the
gallon was causing every man, woman and child in Vanuatu to be homeless? Yet, that is precisely what has happened. You drive a gas guzzler, you are guilty. QED.
*Educate
ourselves to the degree possible/plausible.
Not everyone is capable of reading through a Scientific American article and making heads or tails of what has
been said/described/discovered/discredited.
However, everyone is capable of reading more than one source (yes, I’m
talking to you, FOX News viewers), and paying attention to what kinds of
consensus are being built around given ideas.
You would never know from talking to a member of John Q. Public who is a
“climate skeptic” that 97% of the scientists who study climate hold the belief
that not only is warming happening, but that humans are the primary cause of
warming. This is because the general
public, in general, chooses not to be educated.
TheU.S. National Climate Assessment released earlier this year is an excellent
place to start, for those who do not truly understand the issues involved. For one thing, over 300 different scientists
both in and out of government worked on this document. For another, the issue is broken out into a
variety of contexts – global warming is discussed in terms of each sector of
the economy, and for each section of the country, and response strategies are
laid out (both for government and the private sector).
Perhaps
the saddest (most telling?) part of the whole story is that much of the
American South – home to some of the most closed-minded, bigoted, ignorant
climate change deniers in the world – is actually experiencing either only
modest temperature increases, or even (particularly for large swaths of Mississippi
and Alabama) declining temperatures. For
a self-absorbed population with a history of egocentrism (okay, too polite –
we’ll go ahead and say it, racism), it makes perfect sense that there would be
an inelegant ignorance of what is happening in the rest of the world.
But
make no mistake, we are all in this same lifeboat together. There are few local advantages to be gleaned
from a collapse of global ecosystems.
Adaptation and survival will depend very much on not only our own
actions, but also on the actions of our fellow humans hundreds and thousands of
miles away from us – we must all hang together, or we shall all hang
separately.
As
a healthy place to start, we humbly ask that you read the U.S. National Climate
Assessment. Even if you find it a bit
dry, we promise… it’s better for your brain than turning on the tube to find
out what that wacky Kardashian clan is up to.
Seriously.
Happy
farming!
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