My main aim in life is to protect Antarctica. That continent protects us, so it is simple self-interest to protect what protects us. Antarctica reflects a lot of the sun’s heat, thus helping to keep the planet cooler than it would otherwise be. Antarctica is also responsible for a lot of the world’s weather. If it goes we will suffer big time.
Some interesting benefits of Covid19 are that air pollution over many of Earth’s cities has decreased dramatically and animals are appearing in places where they haven’t been seen for decades. It kind of demonstrates that without us the planet bounces back. Although it is here to stay, Covid19 is just a blip in our history. Climate change on the other hand will be more than a blip and will only get worse with time and inaction and it is already melting western Antarctica.
Is the planet really warming up?
Yep. More than a century worth of data (for England 300 years of data) shows that the Earth has warmed an average of 0.7°C (1.3°F) in that time. Data from the ocean around Tasmania recorded from the 1940’s till now and data from elsewhere shows that the seas are warming fast as well. The hottest temperatures in recorded history were those of the first decade of the twenty first century and recently temperatures in Antarctica reached the highest since records began
Arctic sea ice is disappearing and the summer thickness has halved since 1980. Despite times when the sea ice actually expands people forget that the thickness is far less and the old ice is disappearing as well. It is now likely that the Arctic will be ice free by 2050. Despite deniers saying that there is more ice than ever, on the ground, countries are jockeying to get their hands on the oil and gas deposits, fish resources and shipping routes that are now more accessible because of the ice loss.
The range of many animals and plants has expanded as areas get warmer and krill, a shrimp like animal that is the basis of the Antarctic food chain, are moving further south to avoid warmer waters.
Conspiracies
It’s happening and no it’s not because of solar minimums or Malankovich cycles or cosmic rays or a left wing conspiracy to take your guns away from you or the globalist freemasonry Jewish royalist paedophile Jesuit new world order. This time it’s because of us, and the science backs it up, unless of course you are immersed in conspiracy theories or only read the misinformation put out by US libertarian think tanks funded by fossil fuel industries. If so, then global warming will just be a plot to undermine capitalism and deliver us into the hands of the commies (note to self: must buy more guns before they take them away from us).
Unfortunately, the only conspiracy is the depths that corporations will go to in order to protect their profits. Understandable of course but even with all the greed and corruption, how many of them are going to survive Covid 19?
The great catalyst
Human nature is a difficult thing to budge and sometimes it takes a catalyst. Did I hear someone say Covid 19? For many, when the isolation is over, it will be business as usual but for others they’ve been given a godsend. An opportunity to reflect and see that there is the possibility of a new type of life, more time with family, more free time, more simplicity and frugal living and a focus on what is truly important.
For all of it’s much vaunted resilience and ability to provide wealth, capitalism was taken out by a tiny virus and we were shown that we are slaves to a system that we, the present generations, didn’t create, and one that couldn’t support us once the virus appeared. Don’t get me wrong though, capitalism has made life good for humans in general but the downside is that we have screwed the planet through mass consumerism and lack of concern for the environment.
I’m an optimist though and there are an incredible amount of positive actions being conducted to counteract climate change that never reach the media because there is not enough drama in them. Great things are happening and even though we probably can’t reverse it or stop it, we may be able to slow it down and that will give the other life on this planet a chance to adapt. It will also be the incentive to transition to a greener, cleaner future
What can you do?
These are suggestions from ‘The Rough Guide to Climate Change’ by Bowen Xu.
- At Work and school Find out what policies exist on energy efficiency at your workplace or school. If there aren’t any, or they seem half-hearted or inadequate, work for something better by relaying your suggestions to the powers that be. Encourage co-workers or fellow students to do the same.
- Community- Cities, towns and councils vary hugely in how committed they are to solving the greenhouse problem. Contact your local government and ask what climate-change measures they’ve adopted. Then see what you can do to raise awareness and make change happen – by contacting local media, for example, or attending local-government open meetings.
- Finances – If you’ve got savings or investments, consider moving them towards a bank or fund that supports action on climate change. Generally this will be one that engages in “socially responsible investing” – that is, it considers global warming as well as other social and environmental issues when deciding which companies to include in its portfolio. If you hold stock directly in a company that’s behaving in a less-than-ideal way on climate change, look into introducing or joining a shareholder resolution. Typically these require companies to report on their actions and plans regarding climate change and its impact on the company’s bottom line.
- Politics – Climate change won’t be solved without political will, and there won’t be political will without pressure from voters. The Internet makes it easy to contact your political representatives. Simply drop into one of the following websites, enter your postal or zip code and away you go. A good starting point is to ask what emission targets (if any) your legislators support and what they’re doing to help ensure these targets are met. You could also consider joining one of the campaign groups working for political change around the climate issue. The following vary in their policy focus and attitudes towards issues such as globalization, but they’re all campaigning for major emissions cuts:
Friends of the Earth International
Natural Resources Defense Council
Then there’s you (and me) so let’s reduce the size of our carbon footprint – the total amount of greenhouse emissions that result directly and indirectly from our lifestyles. Since this will include increasing our energy efficiency at home and on the road, we may even save some money in the process. Here’s a good site to get some tips https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/5-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint.
See you on the other side.
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