Last week the UN-climate summit in Nairobi ended with, what they called, a result. Hooray, they are going to cut the emissions, I thought, but that wasn’t it. No, they are going to help Africa so that they can start working with clean technology. Makes sense doesn’t it, because after all Africa has a lot of industrial countries on its continent. Hmmz… when you think about it, it doesn’t make that much sense at all. It would have made more sense if the 35 industrial countries had agreed on using more clean technology themselves, but they didn’t. Instead they tried to agree on a timetable for the completion of discussions on global binding emissions cuts beyond the existing Kyoto Protocol, which means they actually talked about a timetable, a plan, for the past week and a half. And did they actually come up with such a timetable….nope! No clear timetable emerged, so there will probably not be enough time to get new targets into place before 2012, when the Kyoto agreement expires. And because they were so busy talking about the schedule, there wasn’t any time left to talk about another round of mandatory cuts in emissions……obviously!I had high hopes after reading the Stern Review. I thought that this would open the world’s eyes, but it apparently had not much impact. It's very clear from the Stern Review that we need very rapid cuts in carbon emissions and that it will cost far less to cut emissions now than to deal with the consequences later, so why wait? I don’t know what they are waiting for. If we acted internationally now, things could still be changed around. The world could still be a nice place a hundred years from now, but instead politician and ministers like this option better:
- Floods from rising sea levels (displacing up to 100 million people)
- Melting glaciers which could cause water shortages for 1 in 6 of the worlds population.
- Wildlife will be harmed; at worst up to 40 % of species could become extinct
- Droughts may create tens or even hundreds of millions of “climate refugees”
Prosperity today, is much more important then a healthy liveable planet earth in the future.
I wonder….do these people have any kids?
4 comments:
No one wants to change their lifestyle so they pretend it isn't happening.
thats sad.
I agree with you Kat, but I also think we need a total rethink of the way the whole western world conducts itself and that includes us.
My Dutch friend I told you about, she lives in Austria, and for example she recycles everything except for about tea cups worth of stuff each day.
We are filling the sky with greenhouse gasses and filling the earth with tons of crap. It's bad.
Having said that, the human race won't be on this planet forever (maybe 5 minutes more, maybe a year, 100 years, 300 years, very much doubt much more than that), and life is far more resiliant than we think, so I guess the planet will adapt in time, and whatever life is still here will continue and evolve.
I think you’re right, Stu.It's all head-in-the-sand politics! Pretending that it isn't there isn't going to get us anywhere. It's a bit like pretending people won’t get cancer, but in the end 1 in 3 gets it (Dutch statistics).
So, I am really starting to wonder how long they can keep doing this and who they are going to blame when things are going to go really wrong.
I am willing to change my lifestyle (even more), Kat if this will mean that next generations can enjoy a beautiful planet earth (and I don’t even have kids).
It is, Boo
I agree, Andre. Things will evolve and the planet will perhaps still be here after the human race has died out, but in my opinion we can do a lot about the future years.
Like your Dutch friend is recycle most of my stuff too. And I do other things too. For example I use energy saving light bulbs, I have reduced my water consumption and I turn things off when I am not using them (just to name a few)
Small things can make a difference too…..at least I like to think so!
That’s true, Lord Hutton. It’s probably going to get very busy on all the European mountaintops :)
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