by Ross Watkins
Effects of climate change (image: NASA) |
We do not own this planet. We borrow it from our
grandchildren and every single creature which will follow us. We have already
destroyed this planet for future generations and we seem not to even care. The
human race is steaming towards catastrophe of our own making, created by greed
and ignorance, and it will drive us towards our end. With 97% percent of scientists
agreeing that Climate Change is of our own making I think it is a bold and
frankly idiotic to claim otherwise.
Climate change is not the only problem; we
seem to take pleasure in being a mass extinction event bringing demise to the
animal kingdom through merciless killing to satisfy our own selfishness. I would love to thread in ideas of optimism
on this subject and yes we are slowly recognising the problem. However, time is
ticking towards this terminal event and not enough has been done.
The evidence for global warming it unequivocal and cannot be
disputed. All major global surface temperature reconstructions show that Earth
has warmed since 1880. The majority of this warming has occurred since the
1970s, with the 20 warmest years having occurred since 1981 and with all 10 of
the warmest years occurring in the past 12 years. Global sea levels rose 17 centimetres
in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double
that of the last century.
This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of
evidence, even with it as obvious as this there are still some/many people who
deny that it is occurring and that it has anything to do with the human race. In
a general population there are always people who lack empathy, are greedy,
selfish and have the aptitude of some of our primate relatives; these people
are in the same group as those who refuse to accept climate change.
(source: Greenpeace) |
The most
notable example of this is the practice of coal rolling. In this practice the
Clean Burn Mechanism of a car is intentionally disabled so that the car’s
pollution increases. This is done in defiance of environmental regulation. Personally,
I cannot comprehend the foolishness. They modify their car, costing up to
$2,000, as a protest against helping protect the environment. Maybe a more
relatable example is that of UKIP. A party stuck in the 1950’s campaigned for
the repeal of the Climate Act and promoted the idea that the UK should return
towards coal and natural gas. Suppose it would save the average household £197
a year but I would argue that it could cost a bit more than that when London
goes underwater when the icecaps melt. The two examples highlight the refusal
of many to accept that we have caused Climate Changed and even if they have a
refusal to deal with it because it is ‘expensive’ (so was the Iraq War which
cost the US $2.2 trillion which could have solved the issue of climate change
but, hey, that did cause war and mass suffering so money well spent I suppose). People do not want to tackle the cost of
Climate Change because of greed. We are dictated by economic interests and at
the moment a lot of opposition to climate change comes from this. Ironically
what people cannot understand is how expensive it will be if the environmental models
prove correct. But, then again that will be in 50 maybe 100 years and isn’t our
problem.
This highlights the other quality which those who oppose to climate change
have: selfishness. They refuse to act as it does not affect them, or they hope
it will not affect them. Only last week I was phoned by UKIP in a post election
survey. After answering a few questions I decided to turn the spotlight on
them. I asked this young supporter who had called me why his party wanted to
scrap the Climate Change Act (along with an attack on UKIP’s policy to reduce
foreign aid) and when I refused to accept his answer referring to saving me a
bit of money he was suddenly left speechless. He then mustered an answer
relating to the idea that climate change has not been proven, even if this is
not the party line, and said that therefore we do not need to waste money on
it. What this seems to present to me is a person who is self-centred, inward
looking and cannot escape the ideas of the past. A perfect representation of
the party in my opinion.
Climate change is happening now and we need to do
something about it. It is the single greatest issue of our age and unless we
throw away attributes such as greed and ignorance from the mainstream nothing
can be done. We must highlight the issue and show people what the actual
consequences will be. Only when we see famine, flooding, extreme weather events
and the end of political and economic stability as a result of climate change
will we act in the way we need to.
Trophy hunting (image: http://www.lionaid.org/) |
Partly as a result of global warming, partly due to poaching
and other disgusting actions we are diminishing the diversity of the animal
kingdom. The current extinction rate is approximately 100 extinctions per
million species per year, or to make it more relatable it is 1,000 times higher than natural
background rates. They also predict that future rates may be as much as 10,000
times higher. I heard about this first hand when I went to Costa Rica in April.
On visiting the rainforest in the Tortuguero national park our guide went to
great lengths to emphasise the damage humans were having on nature. Edward, our
guide, said that in his 20 years of guiding the diversity in species had
dramatically reduced and that numbers were nearly 25% less than when he
started. Our guide made it very explicit that it was the fault of humans and
humans alone and that this was the consensus in Costa Rica, a country famed for
it environmental responsibility. Hunting for sport is a major part of the
problem and in my opinion poaching is one of the greatest crimes anyone can
commit. In 2011 the IUNC declared the Western Black Rhino extinct due to
poaching for its horn. We should mourn losses like these. Not solely due to the actual extinction of
the species but because of the fact that humans have decided that they have the
right to harm and destroy these creatures for no viable reason.
Poaching is not
even the most abhorrent form of harming the animal kingdom.
That award can be
presented to ‘Trophy Hunters’. People, who use their wealth as an excuse to
hunt, torture and kill beautiful and defenceless animals all so that they can
have an adrenaline rush. These people epitomise what I despise about humanity. They
show no compassion, no humanity and only act in their own self-interests
casting aside the consequences of their actions- I place them in the same
league as ISIS and the Nazis. Hunting, climate change and other human related
activities have caused the drastic rise in the extinction rate and it is highly
possible that our grandchildren will only see elephants in picture books and
films made before we had decided that humans were more important than these
elegant creatures. By destroying the diversity we are putting ourselves at risk
and destabilising the fine balance of nature. We have used our position of
power to commit mass genocide against our companions on our lonely planet.
We do not own this planet. Neither will our children. Neither
will our grandchildren. The owner is the next generation and always will be. We
have been gifted this beautiful planet as far as we know the only one in the
universe. It is individual, special, precious but instead we have chosen to
destroy it. The last few grains of sand are running through the hourglass and
we have to decide now if we are going to stop it now or gamble with the
consequences of not bothering. We are committing a crime against the universe
by not preserving this planet for what will follow after us. We have a duty to
protect it and at the moment we have failed to do so.
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