HUMANITY AND PLANET EARTH

The report says sea levels could rise by seven metres,
via The BBC.

The BBC reminds us, in referring to a report published by the British Government, that the climate of our planet is changing in dramatic ways. For example go to the BBC site and look at the comparison of the median extent of the Arctic Iceshelf in 1980 and 2004.

And the political leadership of one of the world’s current major emitters of greenhouse gases is not accepting the evidence of the significant human contribution to this state of affairs. There are suggestions that the planet has passed the point of no return.

All of that reflects poorly on President Bush. I personally do not blame him. By any measure, I would have thought he was not, and is not, qualified to be President. The political dynamics and processes associated with his appointment go back over time. There is an analogy, I suggest between the political climate and the weather.

Accepting that premise, it is interesting to consider what factors are common. In their different ways technology is one, although it is both the possible answer, as the prominent cause. This points to the power of special interest groups to shape, for example through redistricting in the American case, and control elections. I can see the emergence of the anti-science movement and the parallel refusal to accept scientific evidence.

The results for our planet and our species appear tragic – and their is no hope. We seem awash with stupidity and inertia contradicting our self-proclaimed description as Homo Sapien Sapien,

I strongly doubt whether we are motivated enough to fix our political systems, or to fix our influence on our climate system. And I think for two reasons: there are subtle, cumulative, long term effects, and there are self-indulgent interest groups who main objective is to retain their privileges and lull the rest of the population to sleep, and they are succeeding admirably.

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