Climate Change and Global Warming
Posted by Wanda Lach on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 Under: commentary
posted by Mick English in a response to GetUp video on Climate Change : Whenever we talk about "doing nothing on climate change" or "getting serious about climate change" we need to have some concept about what would constitute "doing something" or "being serious". We also need to have some concept of what would be the outcome of any proposed action aimed at reducing climate change. For instance, should we ban coal-fired power? Nobody likes coal-fired power and I agree; it is dirty, smelly and pollutes. So, if we shut down coal-fired power, what would be the impact on climate change? Apart from making us feel better, I suggest that it would achieve very little in the greater scheme of things. What if we just turn everything off? Now there is a concept to which we can attribute some possible outcomes. I know it is a preposterous concept but bear with me. If we shut the entire country down, i.e no fossil-fuel driven vehicles, power stations, trains, aircraft, etc. basically just turn the country off, we would subtract slightly less than 2% from global carbon emissions. Let me repeat that .... slightly less than 2%! So, if anybody thinks Australia can have any effect on climate change, I suggest a reality check. Whatever we may do here with the best of intentions, the climate change juggernaut is going to just roll on over us in Australia. A recent paper released by one of the many bodies considering climate change said the only sensible thing I have read about climate change to date: It said that instead of focusing on stopping climate change (which we have a snowball's chance in hell of doing) we should be focusing on strategies to manage and mitigate the effects of climate change (something we can do). We should be looking at ways to survive the extremes of weather that are coming our way and we should be looking at moving away from low-lying coastal areas to avoid the inevitable rises in ocean levels. Yes you may have to give up your beloved beachside home but be comforted by the knowledge that somebody further up the hill is going to become the new beach side home-owner. It's an ill wind as they say. In the immortal words of Forest Gump, that's all I have to say about thayat!
Climate Change has been happening for millenia on this planet with little or no help from our species . Global Warming however has been exacerbated by the human race. There is little that we can do to stop this now but there is a lot we can do to help to at least make a difference in the future. Unfortunately most of the governments on this planet are not on the same page as the rest of the intelligent beings on this planet and until they are nothing will change.
Corruption and greed are the currency of our dying planet.
Climate Change has been happening for millenia on this planet with little or no help from our species . Global Warming however has been exacerbated by the human race. There is little that we can do to stop this now but there is a lot we can do to help to at least make a difference in the future. Unfortunately most of the governments on this planet are not on the same page as the rest of the intelligent beings on this planet and until they are nothing will change.
Corruption and greed are the currency of our dying planet.
In : commentary
Tags: "climate change" "global warming"