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For every ‘positive’ story, there is of course a ‘negative’ downside - so we will get that out of the way first! The current debate on climate change has seriously under-estimated the problem facing us as a planet. Greenhouse gases have been altering the climate for a great many years, and the effects of those prior emissions have still to work their way through the system into their ‘final’ form. Even if we are able to curtail our current rate of greenhouse gas emissions (the current strategy proposed by Kyoto), the amount of greenhouse gas concentration actually already in the system will still mean that the temperature of our planet increases. However, inherent in the so-called ‘Global Warming’ are feedback loops which can be triggered and which would then lead to effects independent of any efforts to curtail carbon dioxide emissions - in fact it is likely that current strategies could lead to runaway global heating, rendering our planet uninhabitable (for further information on feedback loops see: www.meridian.org.uk - article on ‘Feedback Crisis in Climate Change’ and article on ‘Global Warning’ both accessible from the home page). The positive side of this is, of course, that it is becoming increasingly impossible for politicians, and indeed the general public, to ignore this looming catastrophe. Today we recognise that those in possession of the most accurate information share the greatest responsibility for ensuring its most effective application. So it is now imperative to recognise that there now exists a state of global emergency in which we should declare that excessive greenhouse gases are an eco-toxin with potentially catastrophic impact on the global biosphere. We must now develop an emergency strategy to move our global society towards a zero or negative carbon economy within the shortest possible time-scale and develop the most effective institutional instruments to manage the transition. Politicians do not ‘lead’ in democracies. They follow courses of action that are socially sanctioned by their people. We therefore have the most tremendous opportunity to influence our decision-makers. Lobbying plays its part, but the most effective intervention we can make is to take responsibility for change in our own lifestyle. We need a groundswell of people acting with their friends and neighbours to lead by example, reforming energy use, waste production etc. - in short moving from the consumer society to the conserver society. Lifestyle change must be matched with change in values, in beliefs, and in those deep unconscious drivers of the ‘enough is not enough’ syndrome. Local neighbourhood action - people working together in replicating small cells and clusters - has the power to change our society amazingly fast. Fast enough, in fact, to be able to reach critical mass in time to avert the worst effects of the ‘global emergency’. Now is the time for all people to come to the aid of the planet.The fu ture of the world is now in our hands. Website: www.meridian.org.uk (Source: Positive News: http://www.positivenews.org.uk) (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.) |
