Yes
we can!
We
homo sapiens do suffer crippling faults including many deniers who
worship the God of Greed, putting short-term gains ahead of long-term
survival. But, remarkably, we are very unique species, the sole
known one ever capable of recognizing, planning, and effecting needed
changes. The empathy of billions now plunging into the vital
remedial task needs, deserves, and must have our support.
The
Press labels this current extinction the 6th, ignoring the
first cyanobacteria one, so let me call it the 7th. This
blog is an update of Blog 192 “Climate Change War Mobilization”
of 16 December 2018.
We
cannot escape unpleasant sacrifices, but, as this time we humans have
and are causing the problem, we must all accept the remedial cost.
Bright as we are, we do need much help from all the data we can
unearth. Open, co-operative minds are essential. We humans are one
fragile species; we have one fragile home. To differ peacefully is
progressive; to militarize differences is suicidal.
Cruelly,
the odds against Life are staggering. Continuous care must be a top
priority. A brief summary: Recently, we re-computed that our
universe of over 1,400,000,000,000,000, stars started with a Big
Bang 3.5 billion not the 4.5 billion years ago (bya) we calculated
just a few years ago. But now Australians tells us they have hard
evidence that their oldest rocks dating back to 3.48 bya contain
well-preserved fossilized microorganisms. Life arrived so soon?
Among
all of the septillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets) in
our Milky Way Galaxy (1 of 100 trillion galaxies), ours is the only
yet-known one with a biome that permitted the origin and growth of
Life. This precious biosphere extends over 19 km down in seas and
rock and 64 km into the atmosphere, Here, some 5 billion species
evolved of which 99% are now extinct, yet we estimate that from 10 to
14 million species exist today. We still seek a meaning and purpose
for all this.
The
first mass extinction of life started about 2.5 bya when
cyanobacteria evolved to manufacture a poisonous gas – oxygen - but
took 100 million years to pollute the atmosphere enough to kill off
most of those teeming prokaryotes, eukaryote, archaea, and bacteria
species that were single-celled without a nucleus. Survivors still
exist in deep, oxygen-free seas and rock. Enough carbon was also
inserted into the atmosphere to plunge the world into an extended ice
age.
This
current 7th extinction is already threatening a million
species, yet it really is not due for a few million years as many
other cyclical factors contribute such as continental drift, shape of
orbit, tilt of earth, volcanic activity, asteroid impacts, and sea
levels. Carelessly, our species has excelled in creating the
factors, such as excessive carbon, methane, contaminant emissions,
overpopulation of humans and cattle, and misuse of water that are
accelerating its deadly attack.
The
beginning of the explosion of life based on oxygen is placed about
542 million years ago, (mya) during the Cambrian period at the start
of the Paleozoic era, the same time the Ediacarans (earliest known
complex multi-cellular organisms, 635-542 mya) disappeared from the
worldwide fossil record.
The
first mass extinction of oxygen-based life came 443 mya at the end of
the Ordovician period when 85% of all species were lost. The second
was 359 mya at the end of the Devonian period when 75% perished, the
third was 252 mya at the end of the Permian period, the 4th was 200
mya ending the Triassic period, the 5th was 66 mya at the end of the
Cretaceous period, killing 76%.
Additionally,
Nature has persecuted humans: Chronic pain infects 1/5th of the world
humans. Some 322 million suffer from depression. Annually, 7.9
million human infants (6% of all births) are born with serious birth
defects. Almost 800,000 adults die annually by suicide which is 1.4%
of all deaths. So cruel!
Heaven,
hell, and purgatory are all here together, created by Nature,
numerous life forms, and humans. Evolution, we could presume,
favours selfish genes to promote survival. Why, then, do so many
species exhibit empathy? Warm blooded birds, cats, chimps, dogs,
dolphins, elephants, lambs, marmosets, rats, voles, wolves will all
make sacrifices to feed, assist wounded, or just befriend others
including other species.
Humans, especially the young, are now accelerating empathy, so
there is hope But, we need to correct many areas where we are falling
short of steering this planet towards the paradise it is in a few
small areas that need global enlargement.
Far too many humans have joined Nature in harboring indifference to
Life. They have concluded
that
we are doomed because we cannot win against powerful vested interests
controlling us throughout history, so have resigned themselves to
grabbing what they still can from life for the immediate future. We
must not allow this attitude prevail. Our task is all encompassing
and starts with the vital, time consuming, job of parenting that
implants loving bonding, and respect for other things, animate and
inanimate.
Our
7th Mass Extinction:
With the main exemption of the Trump administration in the
USA that considers the environment a source of profit, most of the
rest of the world including most of the USA, with varying degrees of
dangerous foot dragging, are embracing actions to delay the pace.
Activists
and Organizations fighting Climate Change continue to grow. Wikipedia
lists 516 organizations fighting climate change (16 governmental, 83
non governmental, another 21 continental, then another 396 national).
Added
to my blog 192 on Climate Change are: The United Nations’
International Panel On Climate Change, the UN Environmental
Programme, and the World Meteorological Organization that lead the
fight, ably assisted by a multitude of others including: The Green
Climate Fund, designed in 2014 with the goal of raising $100 billion
by 2020 to help developing countries fight climate change. Its HQ
was built in Incheon, South Korea. Led by the EU and USA, 48
countries joined and promised funds. Obama pledged $3.5 billion of
which the $2 billion still pending was withdrawn by Trump who
complained it was a scheme to drain money from rich to poor
countries. Some other pledges: Japan 15.4b, Sweden $4b, Norway
$1.7b, Germany 1b, Hungary $1b, France $775m, UK $720m, Canada $277m,
Australia 200m.
One
case, typical of the inaction that 16-year-old Swedish Greta Thunberg
is leading the world to rectify is: The Grand Banks off Newfoundland
teemed with cod and haddock discovered for the world in 1497 by John
Cabot. (Giovanni Caboto a Venetian explorer employed by England).
Settlements from England grew with shipbuilding and other fish
industry jobs as well as trawler visits from other European countries
plus Japan and China. harvesting 200,000 tons annually. World War II
ceased attempts to regulate larger trawlers. By 1968 swarms of
trawlers were taking 800,000 tons annually. All knew this was
unsustainable but the government procrastinated fearful of losing
jobs. By 1974 the take fell to 300,000 tons. Canadian jurisdiction
was extended from 12 to 200 miles offshore but did not prevent a
total collapse in 1993 forcing a total shutdown. Only now are stocks
recovering to permit very limited fishing. Many of the 40,000 who
left the area went to work in the tar sands of Alberta thus
increasing the setbacks to controlling global climate.
Greenpeace
deserves high praise, Founded in Vancouver, BC, in 1971 it has
offices in over 39 countries and over 3 million volunteers with
international HQ in Amsterdam. As it accepts no funds from political
parties, governments, or corporations, it relies on foundations and
followers to finance its goal of helping our Earth nurture life in
all its diversity. It has operated 4 ships to discourage, and bring
world attention to, over fishing, commercial whaling, deforestation,
nuclear proliferation, and genetic engineering, but Greenpeace also
revealed the need to police members. It prompted 100 Nobel laureates
to demand it moderate its stand after 3 members destroyed in 2011 a
test plot of modified wheat near Canberra, Australia. Greenpeace
activists outraged Peru by damaging delicate Nazca Lines (alien
navigational aids?) when performing a publicity stunt during Dec 2014
climate talks in Lima.
The
United Nations 2019 Ranking of 57 Nations on Climate
Protection used 14
indicators within 4 categories: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Total
Energy Use, Renewable Energy Use, and Climate Policy. It reveals the
enormity of what needs to be done.
Sweden
leads with a score of only 76.28, Saudi Arabia is last with a 8.62
score. Other rankings;
70’s: Morocco, Lithuania.
60’s: Latvia, UK, Switzerland, Malta, India, Norway, Finland, Croatia,
Denmark, EU, Portugal, Ukraine,
50’s: Luxembourg, Romania, France, Brazil. Italy, Egypt, Mexico, Slovakia,
Germany,
Netherlands, Belarus, Greece, Belgium,
40’s: Czech Republic, China, Argentina, Spain, Austria, Thailand,
Indonesia, South Africa, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, New
Zealand, Estonia, Cyprus, Algeria, Ireland, Japan, Turkey,
30’s Malaysia,
Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia,
20’s: Taiwan, Korea, Iran,
10’s: United
States,
00’s: Saudi
Arabia.
It
is sad, shameful, terrifying, unbelievable, and many other adjectives
that the United States ranks second to last in spite of its millions
of informed, intelligent, and activist citizens. How can they be so
ineffective? In spite of all the increases in numbers and ferocity
of floods, fires, droughts, storms, and with almost all scientists
warning we have only 12 years to contain the steady rise in
temperatures that can kill all life, just 70% believe the climate is
changing and only 60% believe it is due to human activity.
Far
too many are lured into
distrust of government and its ballot box. They
claim politicians are all
talk, avid fund
raisers, controlled by
vested interests, but with
no meaningful
action on vital issues,
The Democratic debates
revealed over a score of presidential hopefuls united in their
promises to enforce positive climate actions.
Needed election reforms:
compulsory voting, voting day a holiday, no fund raising, candidates
granted equal
stipends
from taxes,
A
current Reuters
poll finds that almost 70%,
including a majority of Republicans, want the US
to take aggressive action to
combat climate change -
but only a third would support an extra tax of $100 a year to help.
It
will cost far more than that whether we survive or perish.
Many
have spent large sums in taking environment-friendly actions in
acquiring fuel efficient appliances, homes, cars, and travel. Greta
Thunberg led us again by taking 2 weeks to sail across the Atlantic
via boat instead of flying to officiate at climate activities in
North and South America. She met with the mayors of Calgary and
Edmonton to argue the need to replace the tar sands industry so vital
to the economy while they pointed out the increasingly high
environmentally-friendly restrictions in place, higher than other
world fossil fuel sources. Healthy compromises are urgently
required. An example of small, but rapidly growing, action is the
fact that 7.3 million (3.2% of population) have given up meat.
Gross
inequality
is yet another unacceptable
thorn.
For instance: In 10 seconds, Jeff Bezos, the owner and
founder of Amazon, makes more money than the median employee of
Amazon makes in an entire year. We live in a time when millions
of Americans, including many Amazon employees, are working 2 or 3
jobs to feed their families while the three wealthiest people in this
country own more wealth than the bottom half. How do we ensure the
inevitable revolution is orderly and peaceful? Thanks partially to
Trump, Amazon will pay no taxes this year.
The enormity of fighting climate change and
maintaining a life style worth living also demands we cease such
inhumane crimes as are waging, especially in Hong Kong, Palestine,
Spain, Syria, Yemen, as well as corruption, control of oligarchs,
inappropriate behavior, discrimination, Mexican drug wars, and so
on.
The price is high but necessary. On with the
task!
PS I have just learned that the next G7 summit
meeting will be held in 2020 in a Trump hotel in Florida and that
mention of climate change will not be included. This is abject
surrender and must not be tolerated. This 46th meeting of
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US represents 58%
of the world’s wealth. The rotating head of the group will be the
USA in 2020, so it gets to host the meet, but should never dictate
the agenda.
Ye Olde Scribe
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