Global Warming All Over Your Ass

[dotinthesky]

When I lived in Canada, whenever a topic of conversation went serious - frakenstein food, globalization, destruction of the planet - some of my friends would interrupt by saying "oh, Amazon forest conversation." It was their way of saying the topic was another highly serious one which shouldn't/couldn't affect their lives; or that it was a cliche to talk about something so heavy, overly played out in the media. They would rather think about the latest fashion trend then the consequences of drinking coffee ground by exploited workers.

I wonder if the current bandwagon-jumping on global warming fears is a little too similar to the one two decades ago when people became worried about the Amazon forest disappearing. At the time, Sting went to Brasil and visited the natives in the forest; millions proclaimed that Brasil should stop destroying the world's lung; but then something else went on the front pages and the story slowly disappeared out of view. I would like to believe that the current warnings on global warming will change the world, but who can say how oh-so-predictably-crap-at-hearing-warnings human beings will react? Will the papers be interested in this story by next year?

My feelings tend to go from extreme negativity to positivity. This morning, looking at the weekend newspapers, I'd swear on the Bible that we were heading for deep shit. How could we not? We as a species refuse to memorize our history lessons. In doubt, read Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Many human civilizations have been destroyed before and it wouldn't be impossible for ours to go the same route. If you add up all the stories in the papers - collapsing fisheries, escalating civil wars, disappearing water resourses, etc - it's enough to make you wish Virgin would hurry up with their space flights so you could book yourself on the next one to the Moon. And the majority of news editors and journalists don't help matters by scarying the public with twisted stories on the government's upcoming green taxes.

But this evening, on my gym's treadmill, with The Kooks on the stereo, and all these different people sweating beside me, it became obvious that in some aspects we are no longer like our ancestors, and perhaps we won't commit the same errors they committed. Sure, there's a vast majority of people who don't give a crap and will continue leaving their lights on when they leave their home, but the percentage of people who are not like that is higher than ever before. In the past, civilizations collapsed sometimes due to factors beyond their control (e.g. enemies or viruses) but the vast majority of them suffered because they didn't understand how important their environment was to them. We are no longer like that.

That the shit is going to hit the fan is obvious. Rich countries are going to have to deal with masses of refugees in the future, and probably the rise of extreme right-wing politics as a consequence; but there will also be places where environmentalism will show definite improvements in people's lives, and this will in turn encourage other communities to follow suit. I have to believe things will turn out OK, otherwise I might as well not get out of bed.

Comments

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

If we were to have a global change of attitude to the environment, it would have to start in America. I'm sincerely hoping the Republicans get a beating in the upcoming mid-term elections (are you voting? are your friends and family voting? please do!) so your country can get back on track with bringing down CO2 emissions.

I do think we'll get to see some terrible events in the future because of global warming - makes me even scared sometimes of being an elderly person on this planet, to be honest - but I also think that horrible events are usually followed by a general push to fix, to overcome and to learn. Take Katrina for example: it was a disaster for New Orleans, and we all saw what happened on TV, but now we all know why it happened and what could have been done to avert it. The information is there, it's only a matter we put it in use by not re-electing idiots like Bush.

[kenoster.livejournal.com]

I can't vote here. I am a foreigner. Which reminds me, I meant to ask you what is your citizenship officially?

To me Bush is not much worse than any other US President since 1944. These guys are just more vocal and efficient about their agendas. They are just people in power really, they all have the same nature.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I have dual citizenship: British and Brasilian. I could claim South African too, since that's where I was born, but there would be no advantages for me. :-/

I disagree with you on Bush. Sure, other presidents were pretty crap, but he's by far the worse one.

[kenoster.livejournal.com]

Oh and I agree about the environmentalist shift having to start in America. I've heard some scientist speculate that even if you could get all parties working together now it is too late to prevent major consequences in the next 100 years. It makes sense really, since the Industrial Revo. all we have done is change the environment as fast as we can. Sadly, instead of people coming together to work on this, what I see is countries competing to become as wasteful and energy hogs as the US. China and India are doing everything they can to do it. Every time I read about the techno revolution coming to China and India, how they are planning to build X number of millions of cars by 201x I fear for their environments. How many new electronics will be built by countries that together are 6 or 7 times larger in pop. than the US. How will they dispose of them, etc.

See today I feel despair. Show me something hopeful please!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Ok, here's something hopeful: while China is indeed pushing its development button like crazy, it has also realized that massive deforestation and exploitation of its rivers has had a negative effect on the country. Millions were displaced in 98, for example, because of massive floods (due to trees by riverbanks having been cut down.) Now, with the Gobi desert encroaching on cities - Beijing itself now has sand storms whip through it - they have woken up to the fact that they need to tackle their behaviour too.

See, although it does look grim, no country is immune to the effects of global warming/destruction. Consequently, politicians have to change and face these issues if they wish to retain their power, otherwise they risk losing everything to a population determined to elect new political parties that will do so.

I'm full of hope today. :-)