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None so blind as those who can’t see

March 6, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Doug Skeates

It is well worth remembering  a common expression, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up”.  How often do we encounter this attitude?   The flat earth society is one prime example.  ‘Look out the window!  There’s no sign of curvature on the horizon.’ 

Presumably most having this philosophy don’t live in coastal communities.  Several storey-high steamships heading out to sea gradually fall out of sight due to the curvature of the earth.  Photos from outer space showing the world is round, though some people consider ‘this is just a hoax, fake news’!

Similarly, a segment of the world’s population rejects the concept of global warming despite the evidence that the climate is changing.  Receding glaciers and melting polar are well documented as are records of rising mean temperatures. 

However, dispute over causes is hotly contested, whether due to human or natural causes.  Science illustrates physical facts while reasons for them are open to question. The global population has increased from about a billion people a couple of centuries ago to the present  7.5 billion.  

Each individual requires accommodation as protection from extreme heat and/or cold at different times of year.  Similarly, the number of cars on the road, each burning fossil fuel, has sky-rocketed.  There is little doubt that such major changes in the planet’s dynamics is impacting life as we know it.

Eleven thousand scientists around the world, noted in Bioscience, are signatories to an alarming warning that the planet is facing a climate emergency.  Especially worrisome are potential irreversible climate tipping points and nature’s reinforcing feedbacks (atmospheric, marine and terrestrial) that could lead to a catastrophic “hothouse Earth,” well beyond  the control of humans.  These climatic chain reactions could cause significant disruptions to ecosystems, society and economies, potentially making large areas of Earth uninhabitable.

One of the most serious concerns includes control over the primary form of energy used by mankind.  Burning of fossil fuels results in ever-ncreasing accumulation of polluting carbon emissions forming an atmospheric greenhouse blanket restricting escape of heat from the  earth’s surface. 

It is up to mankind to limit this level of carbon pollution by replacing this source of energy taken from the ground with renewable natural systems, as well as utilizing means of extracting carbon already in the atmosphere.  Charging a price on generation of carbon has been shown to be one effective deterrence to use of carbon fuels, reducing the problem of generating even greater CO2 pollution. 

Just as significant is increasing plant foliage such as forests, which remove carbon from the air by photosynthesis to be stored as an annual ring of wood on the trunks of every standing tree.

Atmospheric emissions are only one aspect of misusing the planet’s resources.  The media present many articles and documentaries publicizing vast quantities of wastes being dumped into oceans around the world.  Efforts have been made to clean up beaches. Devastation is from the impact of using oceans as garbage dumps for industrial and municipal wastes.   

Surveys have shown that plastics account for about 80 percent of non-degrading pollutants.  Apparently most plastics break down into particles which are easily ingested by fish with fatal results.  Loss of fish stocks as well as over-harvesting  and wastage of non-marketable species is a threat to supply of protein for humans dependant on marine life.  Rising ocean temperatures have been the  primary cause of killing coral reefs worldwide as well as the loss of ocean  vegetation.  Ocean vegetation is a major factor in absorbing atmospheric carbon as well as providing spawning habitat for fish, a significant source of protein.

Increasing global temperatures have become a fact of life.  The days of denial are over.  Society has few options in solving the problem.  Efforts to date have focused on means of reducing activities producing even more carbon emissions, hence increasing  the problem.  

Greater emphasis is needed on nature’s solution, the ability of trees to absorb existing carbon from the atmosphere to be stored in annual rings of wood.  The other major approach is turning a blind eye to the obvious, doing nothing, accepting the status quo, expecting adaptation to the inevitable.

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