Monday, 03 September 2007

Climate Change : Quo Vadis?


Too little, too late, another irritating post on Climate Change
The whole weekend I was bombarded by “Global Warming” and “Climate Change” on TV. Virtually every station had something to say. From Sky, CNN, BBC, EuroNews, SABC, Discovery, ad infinitum. And with good reason. What amazes me is that it is all about creating awareness. Bit late for that. We should have passed that milestone a long time ago. Gigs in the park, leaving the SUV at home on Sundays and walking 500 metres to the local deli for the newspaper and a packet of fags is worth diddly squat. It’s too late for lip service.
I am tired of being told that I am a Doomsday Prophet. I am negative, alarmist, will not happen in my lifetime, etc. It is happening now the evidence is there. Just have a look around, those who refuse to see will remain blind.
Governments are not going to do anything meaningful, nada, nothing, zilch and zero. The bottom line is that to bring “things” back into balance, the global economic growth, (as in use of natural resources and production rates), will have to slow down significantly, maybe even drastically. No Government is going to do that. If one Government backs off another will take advantage of resources that become available, to their advantage. No individual or groups of individuals will change this. It is in Mans nature to develop and grow.
Climate Change is a symptom, increased population and production with the effect they have on the environment are the causes.
Malthus was one of the Classical Economists who theorized that there is a balance between resources and population. When population outstrips resources, terrible things happen, that restore the balance. Ever since Malthus published his theory it has been ridiculed and negated. But I find it strange that even today academics find it necessary to prove him wrong. The Big Picture remains the same.
The cynic in me says that nothing pre-emptive will be done on a global scale. We will let mother nature take her course and manage the disasters as they happen. As another cynic said, “we are all part of evolution, and those of us left, will adapt with the changes”.
That sums it up, and I have made peace with that.
Climate is an angry beast, and we are poking it with sticks". W.S. Broecker

2 comments:

Didik Wicaksono said...

The newspaper that I have read this afternoon had an article that shows many ways that scientists have made to prevent global warming.

I don't the point of the writer (reporter), by posting this article.

Because all the solutions are either impossible, dangerous, and highly expensive. :))

So, they post craps too in National newspaper.

Jos said...

I just read a new aspect: that because of only a relatively small increase of global temnperature there will be a huge amount of "stuff" under the permafrost 'unfreezing' and then start to rot like mad. This rotting process will gas up so much co2 - thus increasing global warming - that this will become an unstoppable circular disaster... hmmm