October 2005 Archives

Even as the Amazon simmers through an unprecedented drought, and the Arctic ecosystem disintegrates, America as the largest consumer of energy and cause of climate change continues to dawdle. Simply climate change, energy prices, terrorism, childhood asthma and many other entwined problems are rooted in unsustainable, wasteful use of fossil fuels. The current energy paradigm is clearly going to change, either through wise policy implementation like taxing oil to fund alternative renewable energy and promote efficiency and conservation, or through the current energy regime disintegrating as any number of weaknesses become critical.

America's failure to develop a rationale energy policy that acknowledges constraints and opportunities is a much a failure of the political system as anything, as people who have compromised themselves so badly to achieve power are unable to do what must be done to protect the environment, economy and security of a nation. Both major political parties in the United States continue to pander to the public's outrage that they have to pay costs approximating the worth of and damage caused by oil. There is a dearth of leadership - the type that forms public opinion, not reflects the worst in human nature.

Recent weeks have witnessed the warmest September on record globally, a drought plagued Amazon, unprecedented melting Arctic ice and of course the mega-hurricanes. If you walk out your door and sit with nature you can feel her distress. Now there are indications that the oceanic food chain is collapsing. Again I repeat the biological fabric of being is disintegrating. The plethora of dramatic global changes indicates that we may be entering a period of abrupt climate change, falling within the extreme range of scientific predictions. My sense is that most people know global warming is happening, they know the skeptics are kooks bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry. But they do not yet know what to do about it. This lack of vision and leadership must be rectified.

Ocean warming threatens Antarctic wildlife

Scientists working in Antarctica have discovered an alarming rise in sea temperature that threatens to disrupt populations of penguins, whales, seals and a host of smaller creatures within a few decades... Rising temperatures and greater losses of sea ice could also spell big problems for krill. A study published last year showed krill numbers had fallen by 80% since the 1970s. Experts linked its collapse to shrinking sea ice.

Anyone else notice it is getting warm out there? I sit by saddened and bemused as all of the predictions made by climate change scientists come to pass, and still the political structure and society remains immutable, careening towards the great eco-unknown.

Planet Sees Warmest September on Record

Worldwide, it was the warmest September on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday. Averaging 1.13 degrees Fahrenheit (0.63 degree Celsius) above normal for the month, it was the warmest September since the beginning of reliable records in 1880, according to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center.

Climate change is a reality, it is happening now, and it is widely killing plants, animals and people. A new book indicates the magnitude of the threat posed to biodiversity by climate change. And the World Bank reports huge numbers of deaths and ill health in poor nations are the result of climate change and pollution. A small blurb below quotes the U.S. energy chief as saying that global warming is real. When top scientists, the world's economists, and the political elite all agree climate change is happening and is deadly, where is the action? A dreadfully important question is whether the energy guzzling rich countries intend to do anything about the death of ecosystems, species and millions of humans while there is still time to stabilize climate in a livable condition? Or as long as the death and suffering is relegated mostly to the poor and other species, will the over developed world continue to use yet more energy, causing even more climate change, in order to live comfortably through the lead up to Armageddon? After all, this World is expendable as the faithful will be whisked away to an after-life in paradise, where surely energy and ecological crises are non-existent. Meanwhile, back on Earth our profligate use of energy is destroying the ecosystems upon which the human family is entirely dependent. Do we get the fact humanity and the Earth are dying? Do you? And what are you going to do about it?

Leave it to the World Bank to wonderfully document the problem - in this case that climate change and pollution is widely causing death - while completely failing to acknowledge their own role in causing both climate change and pollution. The World Bank promotes a failed economic model based upon unsustainable consumption. If only the World Bank were as good at using its power and money to solve problems as they are in writing reports. If the economists read and acted upon the reports the environmentalists write, the Bank would shift funding from fossil fuels to renewable energy, stop financing primary forest logging and get serious about supporting community based ecologically sustainable development. Until that day, the Bank is an enemy of the Earth.

Climate change and pollution are killing millions, says study

Almost a fifth of all ill health in poor countries and millions of deaths can be attributed to environmental factors, including climate change and pollution, according to a report from the World Bank. Unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene as well as indoor and outdoor air pollution are all said to be killing people and preventing economic development. In addition, says the bank, increasing soil pollution, pesticides, hazardous waste and chemicals in food are significantly affecting health and economies.

America's dysfunctional love affair with gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles (SUVs) may finally be waning. And the break-up may come none too soon as gas prizes, war for oil and deadly climate change all converge. There is a glumness in America as its petro-binge draws to a close and there are no clear way forward. Out of this volatile situation could come a continued shift to militaristic fascism or an abrupt shift to the embrace of progressive green values. The outcome of peak oil is yet to be revealed.