Humanity’s Gravest Threat

Global warming threatens our very existence, yet provides opportunities to build a better society

California wildfire

My frustration with the course of human activity is profound. On one hand we are the most brilliant creatures ever (as far as we know), self-aware and able to create great art and music, make amazing scientific discoveries and commit selfless acts of love for others. On the other hand we are tribal, superstitious, greedy, violent, irrational and destructive. Collectively, we are schizophrenic and which side of our personalities dominate will determine our fate, not in the distant future, but rather, right at this moment.

Climate deniers fall into two camps. One camp are those that perpetuate the lie that global warming is a hoax. Those people well know it’s real, but perpetuate the falsehood because there are billions of dollars to be made. The fossil fuel industry and their well paid and bribed minions don’t care if we live or die. They will do anything to maintain the status quo and have a vast, gullible, audience. The two represent the worst qualities of human nature, greed and ignorance and are perfect, frightening companions.

Eras on the earth are defined by epochs marked by significant climate change. Significant change in the past has been measured in millions of years. There have been multiple ice ages on earth and the last one, the Pleistocene lasted 2.6 million years and ended 11,700 years ago ushering in the Holocene in which we have lived. The Holocene has been characterized by climate conditions ideal for humans life to thrive marked by little temperature variation above or below average.

These conditions allowed us to evolve from small hunter-gatherer tribes into farmers and settlers. Agricultural food production led to governance, the need of armies to protect our crops and resources and the development of industry. Our population grew from approximately 10,000 to 30,000 to our present 7.7 billion in a matter of five or six thousands years. In 1800 the human population numbered around 1 billion. By 1900 that figure was 1.65 billion. By 1970 it was 3.7 billion. Today, just over 50 years later, that figure has doubled to 7.7 billion. Our growth has been exponential.

Because epochs are defined by climate change scientists have begun to label this newest period the Anthropocene. “Anthropo,” Greek for human being, acknowledges that the greatest driver of climate change now is human activity. Debate exists about when to define the start of this period. Some consider the Industrial Revolution the beginning of the Anthropocene, others the 1950s with the proliferation of nuclear bomb testing. It doesn’t matter. What matters is recognizing that we are now the most powerful influence on climate. No other creature has ever altered the profoundly slow processes of Earth through it’s activity this way. In a matter of decades we have affected change that should take hundreds of millions of years. These changes include habitat loss, changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans and soil, an unprecedented rate of animal extinctions and global warming that threatens our survival.

At one time we were unaware of the consequences of our actions. The industrial revolution brought conveniences and security previously unimaginable. The United States was a second rate power until WWII. Post WWII we became the most powerful nation on earth and our economy became the most powerful as well. Our prosperity and principles of freedom continued to inspire oppressed people to emigrate from every corner of the world for a better future. Only a few voices recognized that the path we were on was unsustainable. There were no environmental protections and businesses openly dumped toxic waste into the water and polluted the air with impunity. On June 22,1969 the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland literally caught on fire. That event caught our attention.

Later in 1969 Congress passed the National Environmental Protection Act which led to formation of the EPA and celebration of the first Earth Day. The Clean Water Act followed. We were awakening to the consequences of our actions, but every gain since has been fought against and undermined by corporations and subject to the whims of a changing administrations in government which increasingly over the years are made or broken by corporate money. Some of our so-called political leaders have simply sold out for personal gain.

Here we have arrived, our basic human values of decency and connection undermined by greed and power lust. The world we have created is a 24/7 marketing machine designed to make us feel inadequate, jealous and deficient. It destroys our individuality, depends on endless consumption and is herding us over the cliff of survival on our tiny, finite planet.

There are many inequities in the world and many causes to fight for stemming from fear, ignorance and a tendency for sociopathic personalities to rise to the top. It is easy to feel powerless and throw our hands up. The silver lining of this unfolding tragedy is recognizing what we have in common and what we have a right to, regardless of our color, religion, or language. That commonality is our dependence on this planet’s health. There is nothing more important. We can’t wait for a government that can’t get the most reasonable things done or for corporations to somehow grow a conscience. We have the strength in numbers. How can just thousands of people in power stop the will of seven billion from creating the changes we need?

Talk to your friends. Have them talk to theirs. Buy only what you need. Buy from local businesses, world trade is destructive. What is the carbon footprint of an apple shipped on a container ship from Brazil? It’s ludicrous. Organize boycotts of big box chains that have stolen our ability to own small businesses and create personal relationships and satisfaction in our lives. Stop buying from Amazon. Jeff Bezos wealth is obscene and he treats his workers like dirt. Walk door-to-door in your neighborhood and introduce yourself, talk about these issues, organize petitions. Be patient with the misinformed, they won’t be won over in one conversation. Disinformation proliferates. We need to persuade as many as possible.

I think all of us are living in a state of fear and depression these days. We can overcome that fear and depression and wake up with purpose by taking action. Taking action will energize us and build momentum. It can become an unstoppable force. Our strength is in organization and agreement that this planet belongs to all of us, that it’s our only security and sustenance. Let’s fight for it.

Geoff