We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, January 21, 2011

Extreme weather and climate change: How long must we sing this song?

by Dr. Paul Johnston, principal scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter and Head of the Greenpeace International Science Unit. 
It seems to me that time is running out. We can debate the issue endlessly. But each extreme weather event, whatever the strength of its underlying link to climate change, only serves to emphasise the consequences of such phenomena in terms of structural damage and human suffering. It also highlights our limited ability, despite technological advancement, to predict, mitigate and recover from them. They are yet another painful reminder of the urgent necessity for the deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, cuts that the Energy Revolution could deliver.
The "Energy Revolution" cannot deliver any significant cuts as long as capitalism with its growth imperative exists. So which will we choose: survival with a sustainable social-economic system or capitalism and human extinction?
 
See also, "Thaw of Earth's icy sunshade may stoke warming", and Report reveals flooding's massive impact on farms and mining.
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