Dear Luis,
Thank you for your efforts. Unfortunately, the Earth System has already
tipped too far for simple recovery. A change in human behaviour and
lifestyle is not going to make much difference on the short timescale we
have to put the planet back on course. There is already too much CO2 in
the atmosphere, the Arctic is warming dramatically, and the Amazon
rainforest is at risk from drought, die-off and burn.
One can argue that human stupidity has caused us to get into this
crisis. But the danger is that human stupidity will prevent the human
race from getting out of the crisis. The stupidity I see now is that we
are not doing the things necessary to keep the planet into a hospitable
state for enjoyment by future generations. These necessary things
include deliberate intervention in the climate system. Now most
environmentalists still think of such intervention as "tinkering" or
"fixing" or even "playing God". However I'm afraid we have no choice.
If we'd laid off CO2 emissions 50 years ago, all would be well. But now
there is enough CO2 in the atmosphere to cause global warming to
continue for centuries and ocean acidification to threaten marine life.
The Arctic summer sea ice could disappear within a few years, allowing
Arctic temperatures to rise, threatening both the discharge of massive
quantities of methane from permafrost and the disintegration of the
Greenland ice sheet. The only conceivable way of stopping such a
potential catastrophes is through geoengineering ("solar radiation
management") to cool the Arctic.
Thus our society has a stark choice: intervene in the climate system or
risk the future of mankind on this planet. Will we make the sensible
decision? Will we make the sensible decision in time? I doubt it, if
we continue to believe that the crisis can be solved without
geoengineering, or that there isn't a crisis!
Kind regards,
John
---
On 11/01/2011 01:28, Luis Gutierrez wrote:
> Relative to the impending ecological crisis, the Pelican Web/Mother
> Pelican project argues that the root cause of the crisis is human as
> opposed to economic or technological.
>
> Current issue, for your consideration:
> Mother Pelican - A Journal of Sustainable Human Development
> Volume 7, Number 1, January 2011
> Climate Change: A Test Case in Human Development
> http://www.pelicanweb.org/solisustv07n01page1.html
>
> Articles
> Page 1. Editorial ~ A Christmas Reflection on Being Human
> Page 2. Envisioning a Sustainable World, by Donella H. Meadows
> Page 3. The power to create a better world is already ours, by John
> Bunzl
> Page 4. Rare Earths Diplomacy, by Sean Daly
> Page 5. A Real Solution to Global Debt Crises, by Julia Dowling
> Page 6. Flaws in Human Mentality: A few thoughts on the subject, by
> Copthorne Macdonald
> Page 7. Sustainable Growth Is An Oxymoron, by Rudy M. Baum
> Page 8. Faith in service: What has gender got to do with it?, by
> Mariz Tadros
> Page 9. What the New Human Development Index tells us about Africa,
> by Francisco R. Rodriguez
>
> Supplements
> Supp1. Advances in Sustainable Development
> Supp2. Directory of Sustainable Development Resources
> Supp3. Sustainable Development Simulation (SDSIM) Version 1.4
> Supp4. Budapest Call for Climate Justice (WCC, November 2010)
>
> Please forward this notice to friends and associates who might be
> interested. Submission of research papers on sustainable human
> development is cordially invited.
>
> Sincerely,
> Luis
>
> Luis T. Gutiérrez, PhD, PE
> The Pelican Web ~ http://pelicanweb.org
> Editor, Mother Pelican: A Journal of Sustainable Human Development
> A monthly, CC license, free subscription, open access e-journal
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