Hi Paul. The problem I have with global warming is that we're approaching it as though it was the problem, not merely a symptom of a greater problem and thereby foreclosing genuine solutions.
If global warming was solved today we would remain confronted with a host of challenges that, collectively, are an order of magnitude more threatening. Here's a partial list - desertification, deforestation, air/land/water contamination of all sorts, overpopulation, population displacement and migration, resource depletion, the freshwater crisis, species extinction and migration, pest and disease migration, severe storm events of increasing frequency and intensity, and a host of associated security threats including food insecurity, resource wars, terrorism, nuclear proliferation and major arms races now underway particularly in Asia.
My point, Paul, is that, as Jared Diamond maintains, you can't solve global warming or any of these other problems without solving them all. And to do that you must find the common thread that runs through all of these problems. There is one. As a civilization we have to find ways to live equitably and in harmony with our very finite biosphere.
The vexing point is the vehicle, our political institutions, is not suitable to the task. Solving these problems is both an immediate and long-range challenge. That requires a critical mass of political stability, the very thing that these challenges are already undermining. Some maintain that the 21st will be the Century of Revolution and their arguments are compelling. But Revolution breeds chaos and insecurity which will be descending at the very time we most need stability.
There are no quick fixes, Paul. Global warming is merely the manifestation of man pressing too hard on nature and nature pressing back much, much harder. It is also this same self-destructive trait of man's that underlies and fuels the other problems.
It really troubles me to say this, Paul, but I fear we're all Easter Islanders now.
I totally agree! Easter Islanders, Mayas, and just about every empire in history. The difference is that we now have the capacity to render the whole planet uninhabitable, at least in the style and numbers to which we have become accustomed!
Hi Paul. The problem I have with global warming is that we're approaching it as though it was the problem, not merely a symptom of a greater problem and thereby foreclosing genuine solutions.
ReplyDeleteIf global warming was solved today we would remain confronted with a host of challenges that, collectively, are an order of magnitude more threatening. Here's a partial list - desertification, deforestation, air/land/water contamination of all sorts, overpopulation, population displacement and migration, resource depletion, the freshwater crisis, species extinction and migration, pest and disease migration, severe storm events of increasing frequency and intensity, and a host of associated security threats including food insecurity, resource wars, terrorism, nuclear proliferation and major arms races now underway particularly in Asia.
My point, Paul, is that, as Jared Diamond maintains, you can't solve global warming or any of these other problems without solving them all. And to do that you must find the common thread that runs through all of these problems. There is one. As a civilization we have to find ways to live equitably and in harmony with our very finite biosphere.
The vexing point is the vehicle, our political institutions, is not suitable to the task. Solving these problems is both an immediate and long-range challenge. That requires a critical mass of political stability, the very thing that these challenges are already undermining. Some maintain that the 21st will be the Century of Revolution and their arguments are compelling. But Revolution breeds chaos and insecurity which will be descending at the very time we most need stability.
There are no quick fixes, Paul. Global warming is merely the manifestation of man pressing too hard on nature and nature pressing back much, much harder. It is also this same self-destructive trait of man's that underlies and fuels the other problems.
It really troubles me to say this, Paul, but I fear we're all Easter Islanders now.
I totally agree! Easter Islanders, Mayas, and just about every empire in history. The difference is that we now have the capacity to render the whole planet uninhabitable, at least in the style and numbers to which we have become accustomed!
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