So, with that cheery thought, here's an essay on Climate Change that dips a bit into the political, or the lack thereof, side of things, as well as explaining what's going on and why it's bad. If nothing else, if Climate Change continues without change, there will be nowhere for Santa Claus to set up shop, so he'll have to export his work to a foreign country. Do you want to take jobs away from the fragile economy of the Arctic Ocean Ice Mass? Save the world, support the AOIM economy, and ensure Santa stays in business. Nice work!
Climate Change (Again) by Mackinley Clevinger, February 12, 2016
It is an unfortunate fact that, alongside the progress humanity has made in the last century, there has come along with it a hefty price that is, without any kind of recourse or correction, going to wring out our race as repayment for every achievement and advance we’ve made at the expense of our planet. This is not going to come as a single, sudden event, but as an ever-growing issue that will culminate in a loss of resource and habitable regions for the ever-expanding human race, leading to an exacerbation of ongoing conflicts and the formation of new ones as a dwindling human populace struggles for resources and room in a shrinking and dying world.
This crisis is not one we are innocent victims to; it is one we have caused and are, today, continuing to worsen despite clear evidence and numerous warnings that have been all but ignored by the vast majority of politicians in favor of burning the candle from both ends so as to reach more immediate gains, no matter the cost. Safer methods of development exist, but few are willing to make the change from older, more harmful, methods to cleaner ones, despite it being a viable alternative with an expanding market that would benefit a society, and the world, to make the switch to.
What this history of rapid expansion of both technology and carbon dioxide production means is that our atmosphere, the layer of gases between the Earth and space that traps and releases heat, is no longer maintaining that careful balance that existed before the appearance of this mass of carbon dioxide. Instead of keeping the Earth at its regular temperature, the influx of these Greenhouse gases (more than just carbon dioxide, it’s merely one of the larger ones involved) is trapping more heat energy from the sun inside the atmosphere, and releasing less of it into space, causing the ambient temperature of the planet to increase at an alarming rate.
Due to this increase in temperature, the environment on Earth is changing, and the surface of the Earth is an involved part in the Climate Change issue. The surface that the heat energy from the sun hits will either absorb that energy, or reflect it back into the atmosphere to escape into the atmosphere or be absorbed, and a large portion of that reflected energy is gotten rid of by the polar ice caps. Unfortunately, increasing world temperatures will melt those ice caps, which reduces the amount of energy reflected away from the world. This means more energy is absorbed, which melts more ice, and on goes an unfortunate cycle, the atmosphere absorbing more greenhouse gases during this exchange, trapping more heat and energy within the Earth. It’s a problem that, if left untended, will worsen itself over time as each situation knocks over another domino in a cascade of problems.
What this all means is that the Earth is fast amassing more and more heat, increasing both the ambient temperature and the amount of energy that is in the climate system. As ecosystems are upset by the rising temperature, and the ocean levels rise from melting ice caps, there will be fewer resources available for human use, and habitats we and other species inhabit will no longer be able to sustain us or the resources we depend on for our lives. With an expanding population and a reduced quantity of resources, this will not end well for humanity. On top of this, natural weather phenomena that regularly damage human infrastructure are going to grow stronger as more energy is put into the system, tampering with natural weather patterns and worsening natural disasters, causing increased damage to our society as we have reduced resources to deal with it.
If the system, as it is now, does not change, and we continue our expansion without altering the source that fuels our progress, the next fifty years are not going to be pretty for humanity. Similar to how there exists a cyclical exchange between the rising temperature and melting ice caps, a cascade of dominoes that can’t be stopped easily once set off, so too do there exist similar tipping points that will accelerate the worsening of Climate Change, culminating in a worst-case scenario that will be unstoppable. As carbon dioxide production increases, resources to sustain our population will be non-existent as coastal locations become unusable. Rising temperatures will destroy habitable regions, and reduce the amount of clean, fresh water available to people, and living conditions worldwide will worsen as the temperature steadily rises. Based on human history, there will be a conflict for dwindling resources between nations that will result in further destruction of habitat and death in large numbers, the losing sides of that conflict left to waste away without the resources they need to maintain life.
While the future described is not set in stone, this is not a distant threat. This can and will happen if nothing is done to combat the issues we face. This, more than just having a very real chance of happening, is going to happen as things stand. If no action is taken to move away from this direction, that is what we have to look forward to, and this is going to happen whether we like it or not. Numerous tipping points, points of no return without more technological advancement than we have now, have already passed us by, and still more wait before us. We, as a species, not as individual, single, countries, need to act now to, quite simply, save the human race from the destruction of our global civilization.
This is a large threat to mankind, but there do exist ways to turn back the tide. Our largest contribution to Climate Change is our use of fossil fuels, coal and oil, that produce such large amounts of carbon dioxide to our atmosphere. Reducing our use of these resources would lower our output of these harmful gases, and there do exist alternatives that we can use to power the lifestyle we’re used to. Green energies, like solar or wind, do not rely on a limited resource for their continuation, and could effectively replace older methods of power generation in a matter of decades. No solution will be overnight, but they have to be made now, not twenty years down the line when the scientists are proven correct and the world is beyond repairing.
There is the unfortunate fact that no one man or woman can simply say: ‘Alright, we’re turning things around.’ We, in North America, have given that power to select groups that are supposed to pursue our best interests and try to do the best they can by us. These are the people, those in government, that are supposed to make this kind of change come about and fix all of our problems. That is why we elected them, why they have power, and why they continue to have power. In a perfect world, these people would see the evidence in their hands and we could all sit back as they finagled the system into making everything right, because, obviously, if someone has been given power by millions of people, surely they’re the right person to have it.
How many politicians have denied the existence of Climate Change, though? How many vote against any kind of mandated reform? Why are these the people in charge, the people with the clout and power to do something, if they won’t do anything to benefit the people who gave it to them? Ideally, the responsibility for change and action would be on the shoulders of those we designated as bearing that weight, but no longer are we capable to stand idly by on this issue and hope someone else will deal with it. Scientists have theorized, and then known for a fact, about Climate Change for over half a century; we have seen this coming, and this has been an active matter discussed and argued over for numerous years, and the people in power have done nothing. Some government positions change on a routine, but many remain the same and have no limitations on how long an individual can serve, allowing the same, outdated, ideas to remain in control for decade-long stretches.
There needs to be a change, and it’s not going to come from the top trickling down. The wrong ideas about Climate Change, and other things, are in government, and because of that, the responsibility no longer solely lies on the shoulders of those politicians. After a decade of electing the wrong people, the responsibility might just lie on us to do something different with our freedom to vote, to choose who will be speaking with the voice of thousands upon thousands to direct the massive power of a nation in the direction we want it to go. There is, now, a clear and present responsibility for all of us to do something about the oncoming crisis instead of bemoaning our fate that others won’t fix it for us.
The correct time to address the issue of Climate Change would have been decades ago, but there is nothing anyone can do to turn back the clock and undo the mistakes we’ve made since the Industrial Revolution. Now, there is only going forward, aware of the active crisis and trying to divert our path away from a painful end. Every nation, not just the United States or Canada, need to make serious reforms to their policies and stop the widespread use of fuel sources that are contributing to Climate Change if we, as a species, want our modern way of life and our culture to survive the twenty-first century. It’s too late to do nothing, that will only invite disaster, so the only solution that lies in front of us it to take action and do something before it’s too late for us all.