Given that today marks the 25th anniversary of what was then the biggest oil spill in history (since overtaken by the one in the Gulf of Mexico a few years ago) at the Exxon Valdez, and that it remains one of the most famous and tragic man-made ecological disasters in history, it seemed fitting to do an article on the environment today, of all days.
UN Scientists have released the most threatening forecast yet for humanity regarding climate change, if serious action is not taken soon. The prediction is indeed dire, and yet, scientists think that they may actually be undermining the impact of global climate change for the future. According to a recent article by Richard Ingham of the Associated Foreign Press:
"The assessments that we can do at the moment probably still underestimate the actual impacts of future climate change," said Jacob Schewe of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, who was not involved in the IPCC drafting.
Given the warnings that scientists have given us on climate change in the past, this would seem particularly alarming. According to the Richard Ingham article on this latest report, these following things are forecast to occur on a worldwide level:
-- FLOODING: Rising greenhouse-gas emissions will "significantly" boost the risk of floods, with Europe and Asia particularly exposed. In the highest warming scenarios of untamed greenhouse gas emissions, three times as many people will be exposed to severe river flooding as with lower warming.
- DROUGHT: For every 1 C (1.8 F) rise in temperature, another seven percent of the world's population will see renewable water resources decline by a fifth.
- RISING SEAS: If no measures are taken, "hundreds of millions" of coastal dwellers will be displaced by 2100. Small-island states and East, Southeast and South Asia will be the biggest land-losers.
- HUNGER: Average yields of wheat, rice and corn may fall by two percent per decade, while demand for crops is likely to rise by up to 14 percent by 2050 as Earth's population grows. The crunch will hit poor, tropical countries worst.
- SPECIES LOSS: A "large fraction" of land and freshwater species may risk extinction, their habitat destroyed by climate change.
- Security threat - Poverty, migration and hunger are invisible drivers of turbulence and war, as they sharpen competition for dwindling resources, the report warns.
Of course, you will get those climate deniers who get their news from FOX and MSNBC and other such news sources, who will claim that scientists are just using scare tactics, and that these reports are greatly overblown. They will claim that we need not worry.
But let us remember that it was these same people, with the same motivations of undermining environmental legislation and policies in the name of "jobs" and economic growth, who laughed at "environmental wackos" in the eighties and nineties, and thought the very idea of global warming was absurd, dismissing it out of hand, almost instinctively.
Now, of course, it has become a lot harder to simply dismiss it, given that we have seen very strange, extreme weather habits with such a degree of regularity that you cannot help but raise your eyebrows and take notice. Record cold temperatures and snow amounts in North America this winter, with similar records in Europe in previous years. In the meantime, Australia was experiencing at those times record heat and droughts. We have seen massive hurricanes do extensive damage, and tsunamis from the very oceans that are supposed to rise create havoc like nothing we have ever witness in history before.
All of that, in a very short time period. Like the Bible predicted, perhaps - and maybe that is why they are gaining traction. But these are things that scientists accurately forecast decades ago, when they were laughed off the stage and dismissed with an impatient wave of the hand. Nobody wanted to hear it back then.
Now, we can't stop hearing about it. Time and again, we see extremes like we never have seen before, and many more of us are finally beginning to believe, and see that we need to take action.
Unfortunately, not everyone feels this way. Not yet. When will they change their mind? Hopefully before it's too late. But there simply are no promises on that rosy scenario seemingly being forthcoming, are there?
The best we can do for now is to stay involved, and to remain as informed as possible. This article helps us gain a better understanding of just how much is at stake:
"UN scientists see grim future if no climate action" by Richard Ingham of the Associated Foreign Press, March 23, 2014:
http://news.yahoo.com/un-scientists-see-grim-future-no-action-035340842.html
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