Tomorrow, April 22, is being celebrated as Earth Day in many parts of the world. I wish that we would show respect for the planet, that witnessed our birth, all 365 days, but that is too much to hope for.
Throughout human history we seemed to have the attitude they we have dominion over the earth, and all the other living creatures we share our planet with. This arrogance has lead us to believe that we can live as we choose, with little, or no, regard for the consequences that our actions have on the environment.
We don’t not have control over the environment. We can affect it, and we if don’t understand the consequences of our actions it will likely lead to our extinction.
Learning to make more efficient use of our resources is in our own best interest. If we don’t change how we live now it is future generations that will suffer the consequences of our arrogance.
Do you believe we need to devote significantly more resources to understanding climate change?
Do you believe that if we don’t significantly change the way we utilize our resources now the consequences to future generation will be severe?
Would you be willing to pay more in taxes if the money was used for research into understanding what affects the environment, and for developing technology that will help us adopt to whatever changes do come?
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April 21, 2009 at 4:37 pm
danielle
Yes, Happy Earth Day. I’ve been turning more and more green (ha!) for the last few years and am sometimes teased for it.
I think it is important to take care of the earth. The things that we sow today will be reaped in future generations…both good and bad.
I think it’s a great thing that going “green” is becoming so trendy, that things are made more earth-friendly and many retailers promote simple things like reuseable bags.
April 21, 2009 at 9:16 pm
edfromct
I agree Danielle that more people are starting to think “green”.
Unfortunately I doubt that “most” people, and the governments they elect, are prepared to make the significant changes that are needed, quickly enough too reduce the disastrous effects that rapid climate change will have on the world our grandchildren will grow up in.
April 21, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Indian Lake Papa
I am not so sure I am turning s green as some – but we do raise a few tomato’s, peppers and love organic foods – and have planted a few trees. My van is not too bad on gas, we have one vehicle for the two of us, our electric bill is less than 50 bucks a month, we use natural gas mostly, and that is less than 35 a month – we try to keep the ‘green’ in our pockets!
April 21, 2009 at 9:33 pm
edfromct
Papa, your are doing your part. If we all followed your example it would help reduce our carbon footprint.
I think however that only governments have the resources to make the significant changes quickly enough to really slow down the process of rapid climate change. We haven’t even reach the first step of committing sufficient resources to adequately understanding this process.
My guess is the most that we can do now is develop a life style that is far more environmentally neutral so that our grandchildren will be better prepared to adopt to whatever environment they encounter.
April 22, 2009 at 12:17 am
lovewillbringustogether
i LOVE that cartoon
Q1 – YES! and we should also take a really good long hard look at the problem underlying this one – Human Population Growth. We only have ONE Earth it is insane to believe we can continue to grow the Human Race without any limit and doubly insane to believe that at the same time we can continue to increase our personal levels of consumerism/consumption and it’s associated waste and pollution of our Only Home.
You’d really have to be ‘Stupid’ to not consider that far more carefully than most of the 6, 600, 000, 000 of us there currently are, have so far.
That’s three times more than there were 100 years ago – six times more than 200 years ago and 12 times more than when America was discovered by Europeans.
In the time the population of the world has increased a dozen times the land area of this planet has not changed one iota. Less than 1/3rd of our planet is above sea-level – under 150 million sq kilometers which means there are now 44 people for every square kilometer or about 110 people per square mile of land area. Consider how much land is unsuitable to live on – mountain tops like the Himalayas and deserts like Death Valley and how much land we need for our cows to feed on or our farmers to grow wheat or corn on and you start to see why a doubling of the population is not really a good idea for us. Then add in the amount of energy we now pull out of the planet to burn up and pollute our Air we breathe (as do those plants and animals we nedd to survive) and the story starts to become a little ‘Grim’ – we ALL need to be part of the solution and not keep on adding to the problem.
We are past the point where we can afford to be complacent and leave it up to someone else to start acting before we do.
Q2. – See above
Q3 – yes – but i’d vastly prefer that those in large enterprises who are making the biggest profit by ignoring the cost of their pollution of our planet and of pushing ever increasing consumption on us so they can make ever bigger profit were forced by Politicians with backbone and integrity into turning their industry into renewable and recyclable enterprises so that our economy becomes more in line with the earth’s own NATURAL patterns that have ensured the survival of all life on earth for millions of years.
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April 22, 2009 at 1:33 pm
edfromct
All the organizations, whose web sites I have visited, that promote better use of resources put population control at, or near, the top of the list.
The sad fact is that we do have the ability to control our population. China did institute strict birth control measures which has reduced the famine that use to exist in that country.
The poorest countries in the world are mostly in Africa. Civil war, poor farming techniques, compounded by drought, leave these people, and their governments (such as they exist) trying to survive day to day. I would guess that educating these people on birth control is pretty far down their the list of priorities.
You are right that in the long run if we don’t learn to match our resources to our population poverty will be a by product.
April 22, 2009 at 9:52 pm
lovewillbringustogether
After all is said and done… there is far more said than done!
Talking about pop control is a FAR cry from DOING something about it – to the best of my knowledge China, as you say, is the ONLY country out of over 200 to actually DO something about this critical-to-all-our-survival problem.
It is not poverty that concerns me so much (For the Poor ye will have with you always) as premature Death, dying before we have done what we came to do, and the condition we leave this planet in for those who come after us.
What chances we take from them for our own selfish greed and short-sightedness.
Those desperate despots who rule most African countries in the mould of Idi Amin (Uganda) and Robert Mugabe (Zim) and Muammar Gaddafi (Algeria) and the weaker African rulers who do nothing to condemn and isolate them but welcome them with open arms while millions die in poverty of disease and starvation in refugee camps as a direct result of their acts are truly despicable and will never do anything to reduce their fortunes and power over their country – it is inbred over many generations and will not change unless drastic interventions are forced upon them. Their priorities begin and end with themselves and their continuing power over the very life and death of others.
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April 22, 2009 at 11:13 pm
edfromct
Below is a link to a chart on Wikipedia, of estimated population growth rate by country for 2008, complied in the CIA Factbook.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_growth_rate
It is striking that the countries with the lowest rates are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a few exceptions. The countries with the highest rates are in Africa, which also has the most poor nations.
The ranking system made it hard to count but I came up with 26 countries had negative growth rates, including Italy. I guess the Italians are not listening to the Pope about birth control methods.
Dividing 70 by the annual percentage growth rate gives you the approximate number of years it will take for the population to double. Us Yanks are doing a much better job of control our population that you Aussies are. The US rate is .88, Australia’s was 1.28. Your population could double in 54.6875 years.
A quick analysis shows that many of the high rate countries are Muslim. Perhaps this religion encourages large families.
The countries with the lowest growth rates are, in general, better educated than those with the highest rates.
April 22, 2009 at 5:54 am
Rain
Hmm Ed, I don’t know if it is ignorant of me to think this way, but I think we should take care of the people on the earth before we take care of the earth. We should obviously do what we can and whatever is reasonable to take care of the earth daily, but I don’t think we should spend a lot of money on it, the money should rather go to the poor.
April 22, 2009 at 1:51 pm
edfromct
Rain, if it was a choice between helping the poor or the environment I would agree with you.
Better resource management is however tied to poverty.
Most of the poorest countries are in Africa. They suffer from civil war, poor farming practices, compounded by drought. I don’t have a good answer for the civil wars that plague these countries. If cultivation techniques are not improved then poverty will continue into future generations. If the we don’t improve our ability to forecast droughts, and take measures to reduce their effects, then the famine that results will continue.
In the long run learning how to make better use of the environment is a solution to poverty.
With the caveat that we also need to overcome the barriers of ethnicity, and religion, that lead to war.
April 22, 2009 at 10:11 pm
lovewillbringustogether
Very good thoughts again Ed
Like you i don’t see it as a matter of either or.
Money spent on the environment will benefit the poorest in our societies the most – it is of little immediate benefit to the most rich and powerful which is why so little has been spent on it in the past fifty years.
It greatly saddens me that the multi-billionaires who own and control the Coal industry are now being feted by your and my governments with hundreds of millions of dollars to try to make Coal ‘clean’ and are not putting that money into new and profitable ventures to replace coal in our world energy economy.
Africa could be totally energy independent and have unlimited almost free electrical power through solar furnace industry for a fraction of the cost our governments are putting into ‘white (green)-washing a major pollutant (Coal/Oil) of our planet.
Assuming of course any of their self interests (African rulers) could ever be overcome for the mutual benefit of a Continent and it’s many, mostly poor, peoples.
With cheap electrical power homes could be lit, ensuring children have more chance to be educated by being able to read by something other than candle/fire-light. Homes could be heated and cooking could be done without having to walk miles to collect wood or chop down all the trees in walking range. Water could be pumped reducing the threat of disease propagation and wasting hours daily carrying it by hand from a remote source to a home, etc, etc.
For a small expenditure and a great vision the entire continent could take a massive leap away from permanent poverty.
Care to share my Vision with an uninterested world?
All we need to do is tie the building of the solar power stations into population growth control campaigns and we are on a real winner!
<B
April 22, 2009 at 11:42 pm
edfromct
Comparing per capita energy use the US has by far the highest consumption rate, 11.4 kW per person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_resources_and_consumption
We use approximately 25% of the worlds energy consumption. The good news is that electricity consumption per capita in the U.S. has decreased about 1% per year between 2004 and 2008.
The US is becoming more efficient users. Breakthroughs in battery life, solar panels, alternative power sources like wind farms, should dramatically increase this efficiency. However large scale implementation is still years away.
Unfortunately China’s rate of energy consumptions has been dramatically increasing, at about 5.5% a year.
Overall not a very promising picture. My guess is a rich, technologically advanced, country like the US will be okay as long as everybody else remains willing to sell their energy resources to us.
April 23, 2009 at 2:57 am
lovewillbringustogether
You can rest assured that a very large part of your economic and political ‘machine’ has long been dedicated to ensuring just such a thing continues to happen.
I rather fear though that the rest of the world is waking up to that fact – and somewhat resents it. Some even want to have their resources for their own benefit and not yours – fancy that??:shock:
Seems they might not be willing to continue to swap ‘your’ money for their survival?
A few prophets have forecast the next wars will be fought over water for people’s survival rather than political power – i believe energy supply will be a increasing part of world disputes as population continues to grow with the desires/demands of the world’s people to live a ‘decent’ lifestyle as advertised by the US example.
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