Climate Change Escalation – A New Normal
Videocast
Climate change approaches ever faster. The 1972 study “The Limits of Growth” showed that we would eventually reach a breaking point. In 1990 the UN Advisory on Greenhouse Gases issued a warning: only 1 degree Celsius of global warming could severely damage ecosystems.
Study after study show that the collapse of ecosystems comes ever closer. In 2016 the World Meteorological Organization published a frightening analysis of the state of the environment.
Environmental break down speeds up worldwide. Thus we face mass extinction and soil depletion. Insects are dying in large numbers. We are losing arable land. And almost two-thirds of all vertebrates have gone extinct since 1970 – the sixth mass extinction.
The Arctic system becomes ever more fragile. The rapid melting of polar ice reduces the cooling effect. Melting also adds large amounts of fresh water to the North Atlantic. Thus raising sea levels along the Eastern United States. In 2016 surface warming had reduced Arctic sea ice alarmingly. The weakened Gulf Stream may soon halt or reverse course with serious consequences.
We have found ourselves severely unprepared. And we only make things worse. Here are a few examples. The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement. As a consequence investments in the dirtiest fossil fuels exploded. In addition the U.S. administration continues to reverse environmental laws.
Environmental destruction reflects a systemic crisis at the core of our political economy. Hence there is only one way to avoid climate change.
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