Letters to the Editor
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The Inhabitants of Krypton ...
Didn't believe Jor-El, either. And look how that turned out. In all seriousness this is a sad and worrisome state of affairs. Fifty years from now, as here in Philadelphia my survivors look out over their oceanfront property, the conservatives of 2057 will be attacking the science on whatever problem we face then, because these are people who NEVER change.
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Man
That's some of the most depressing stuff I've read in a very long time. Time to turn off all my lights and go huddle in a corner.
Then get to work trying to make things change.
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Why isn't this the lead story?
Every single day?
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Again
This article will be sparingly read by a few salon readers and 59 years from today my tag, funme, will be accurately engaged:
f*** you and me
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I agree
And it's worth saying a second time. Why isn't this the lead story EVERY SINGLE DAY?
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It won't work
We humans are a selfish, backward-looking lot, in general. We simply don't care about the other guys, about the future, about anything but our own narrow concerns. There are some people who care, but the majority of us really, really don't. We say we care, oh sure. But we rarely DO anything that proves it.
How many people reading articles like this do more than shake their heads, tsk-tsk, and then switch their light bulbs? We've been convinced by people whose livelihoods depend on it that all we have to do is make these little cosmetic changes and presto! the world will be saved. Uh...NO.
It'll take a lot more than changing light bulbs and driving a smaller car. This is going to take MAJOR changes for just about everyone who isn't at the poverty level. And of course, the people who are the worst offenders are both the least likely to care and the most likely to be able to buy their way out of their obligation to the rest of us. Why should they care? They can build themselves fortresses with underground water storage and hired guards to keep out the riff-raff, while the rest of us bake to death in the broiling sun.
This was inevitable from the beginning. It's built-in. Once you have a species that is capable of redesigning its environment, it'll do precisely that, and never stop. We're simply living out our wretched, self-obsessed fate to the detriment of every single other living thing on earth.
As Kurt Vonnegut would say, "Hi ho!"
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Don't despair
Donate to environmental groups
Make changes in your life
Vote
Tell your friends and family
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Flush . . .
Systems tend to return to balance by ridding themselves of the detritus and poison inhibiting their functioning. Our physical bodies work daily restoring balance, and the Earth will do so as well. Those individuals who see Earth as Gaia, a functioning system made-up of billions of other systems, suggest that Earth cleanses itself of toxins. And if we make ourselves toxic by being and creating the poison that threatens Gaia, she will flush us out. It may take several centuries, but be it soon or late, our numbers will be reduced by flood, famine, warfare over dwindling resources, plague, the usual suspects that in previous centuries on a small scale and within certain geographical parameters worked to restore balance. The only difference this time will be the scale on which Mother Nature chooses to work, and she won't give a damn whether those flushed out are Americans or Saudi Arabians. Oh, and don't expect our nation (run by apocalyptic nutcases and supported by the same ilk) to lead the way. Global warming replete with catastrophe is their wet dream, a fulfillment of prophecy.
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Bike to work?
So how many of you are going to bike to work tomorrow?
All of you! That's GREAT!
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Refill the inland seas
We let too much fresh water run to the sea. We need to divert it to refill inland seas. We built the Alaska pipeline so we can do the same to divert water that would otherwise flow into the ocean and use it to refill the inland seas such as the Aral. We can also use tank cars and haul the water to where it is needed. Dams and canals could also be used as well as existing right of ways such as highways and railways. This would be a massive and long term project but so were the Panama and Suez canals.
By diverting water to the inland sea basins, we not only counter some of the rise in sea level, but we also create fisheries, industry and weather. Refilling the Aral Sea would provide moisture for snow and rain which provide the Indian subcontinent with fresh water which otherwise may be in crisis due to the effects on global warming on the snows.
If you go out to the salt flats west of Salt Lake City, the mountains clearly show how high the water was and to refill that would take a lot of water to fill and that water wouldn't be going to the oceans.
You also have to be able to think in terms of 50 to a 100 years for this project to achieve it's goals but the alternatives are to just give up the coastal regions and cities.
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So what?
So what if the worst predictions come true? So what if 50% of species go extinct? The Permian extinction killed off 90% of all species and there are still plants and animals. So what if the sea levels rise "6 inches a decade". Heres's an idea, pack up your shit and move inland. It's not like a tidal wave coming in. So what if the Earth's human carrying capacity is lowered. Even if global warming leads directly to the deaths of 99% of the human population that still leaves 60 million people. More than enough to ensure the survival of the species. Hell, Earth would be paradise with that few humans. I don't know were you live but I can't get an accurate weather forecast for 2 days from now and they want me to trust them for a 100 years from now? C'mon. Can the climatologists predict how much volcanism there will be in the next 110 years? No. Can they predict how much the energy of the Sun will wax and wane? No. How about the effect the tilt of the Earth will have? MMM, maybe. The UN report itself gives a range from 1.4 to 6 degrees rise in temprature. That's a pretty big damn margin of error. No one knows whats going to happen and anyone who says they do is a liar and has some ulterior motive. Remember the old saying "Don't believe the hype".