
I believe we’ve reached a rather bizarre situation that requires some alternative thinking. Otherwise, I fear that we could all find ourselves heading to a very dark place. The scientific weight of evidence, as well as all the anecdotal evidence anyone could possibly want, is overwhelmingly certain that manmade global warming is causing an unsustainable warming of the earth’s atmosphere.
If this rapid warming is not arrested soon, it could go beyond a point of no return with inevitable consequences that could be hellish. Some parts of the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia could become almost uninhabitable and un-farmable, leading to vast migrations of displaced people. Yet, being honest about this scenario is so unpalatable to the political powers in some countries that they would rather collaborate with interested industrial parties in bare-faced denial of all that evidence. Recently, this resulted in almost complete stalemate at a conference to address the issues in Spain.
Ironically, a great deal of the momentum for change and urgent action to address the issues is coming from young people, lead by the likes of Greta Thunberg
I believe the problem is all too real. If you go to the people of the Western world and tell them that they have to accept massive changes to their lifestyles, consumption and ways of life the vast majority are more than happy to side with the climate change doubters, put their heads in the sand and say they see no real reason to change. They have become so habituated to their lifestyles and ways. Even within the space of 1-2 generations consumerist patterns of consumption have ramped up to warp speed. People will believe that they need to replace electronic goods at a rapid rate, that they ‘need’ to acquire new clothes at such a rate that they can barely store them all in their homes. In fact, recent data has shown that in the USA an average of 81lbs (36.5kg) per person of clothing is being disposed of every year. Beyond this, an increasing number of middle class families find they need to rent storage locker spaces to store the excess materials they can’t store in their homes. In the meantime, governments are in cahoots with companies to fuel and continue these levels of consumption. Without it their economies would slump in to recession almost instantly, unemployment would rise and tax revenues would drop. As corporate profits declined, pensions would be under stress to meet their obligations and a dangerous downward spiral would ensue.
Also, they will frequently point to the fact that their own country isn’t among the worst offenders, so why should they be among those who lead the way. Plus, all too often, there’s a negative reaction to what I’m going to write in the next paragraph.
If you go to the people of developing countries and tell them that they are going to have to lead the way on mitigation of global warming, that their countries will have to rein back on industrialization, building of power stations to meet the needs of their rapidly increasing demand and that the world cannot sustain 7.8 billion people all seeking to live their lives as those in the developed and prosperous countries have done, they will just scream unfairness and that they are being bullied unreasonably by those who have already benefitted most. With some justification they will argue that there are still hundreds of millions of people who need to be lifted out of poverty or situations where one bad drought or natural disaster can leave millions in dire peril. They will simply say that as others have been free to ‘pollute to progress’ in the past, so they must be given the freedom to do so now. They will also argue that while the contribution to global warming of developed countries may often be lower on a country to country basis, frequently on a per head basis it’s tiny.
Also, many of these countries sit in areas that are most vulnerable to the early onset impacts of the global warming and this is going to put even greater strain on their populations. They suffer from relatively lower levels of education, higher birth rates (a form of insurance against high child mortality). For governments to agree to rapid cuts would be to leave vast portions of their populations without dreams or hopes to have what they’ve seen so many others around them achieve. This would be a catastrophic mix of the privileged trying to hold on to what they have whilst the aspiring are left without hope.
I mentioned earlier how the young are often realising that they are the ones who will be most effected by global warming. There is considerable anger in the beliefs that their elders have mortgaged their futures for prosperity. And yet, these same young people are personally torn. They still want the mobility and convenience of ride sharing services (over public transport), frequent international travel, online shopping to buy goods manufactured all over the world (shipping is one of the world’s biggest polluters), only to then expect instant and simple return policies when they decide they don’t want some of the goods they’ve purchased. As much as 90% of all returned goods are just trashed and head to landfills – a colossal 5 billion pounds in weight each year and growing. These young people are worried, even frightened about their future, but often fail to see the incongruity of the way they individually live their own lives today.
So, we’re left with a world in which ever more agitated people point the finger at others, call them out and blame, whilst being unwilling to make the significant changes themselves. The process is already broken, evidenced by the way world stock markets don’t even bother taking any notice when major climate change conferences take place – investors know nothing of significance is going to happen that upsets the current train of progress. People weary quickly of the focus on dire warnings, the continual talk of dangers and problems. They want to believe in a future that’s inspiring and exciting, positive and forward looking – not one that’s negative, problem focused and looks backwards with all the what ifs that regret how we reached this point. This isn’t helped when mega-rich people talk of travel to other planets as a means for the rich elite to escape this one when it’s destruction (as a place for humans) is assured. Because, incidentally, global warming won’t destroy the planet – maybe just the ability for humans to live here. the fact is that if humans were wiped out scientific models have concluded the planet would really manage very well without us!
So, is there a solution, or are we (and our children) all doomed Is there a positive way forward for humanity that could really inspire people, excite them about vision for the future? I believe there is and that it lies in science. However, science is made so obscure most of the time that the vast majority of people are switched off and fail to mentally engage with the possibilities. Now, I’m not an expert on things scientific, but i try to make myself aware of some of the most important developments happening in the world. Without even that basic knowledge it’s very hard to give realistic thought to the future (which is what educators need to do, a lot). Just a few of the technological developments already happening have vast potential;
- Solar technology and battery technology
Solar has been getting cheaper at a phenomenal rate and will continue to do so. also, the power of panels of smaller size is increasing. To go alongside this, the battery technology that enables storing of the power gathered from renewable sources is advancing and reducing in cost at rates that are faster than the most positive estimates.
All of this serves to take us faster to a time when renewable energy is so much cheaper than fossil fuel sourced energy, that the choice is simple and obvious. basic economics rather than political diktat can bring an end to the burning of fossil fuels.
- 3-D printing
Like many technologies, in its infancy most people have found it hard to see how 3-D printing will scale to have a vast impact in the world and on how things are manufactured. today, when an article is made most manufacturing processes involve large pieces of raw material cut and shaped down to finished parts. In these processes anything up to 90% of the original raw material is waste.
3-D printing produces the item exactly as required, with precision and almost zero waste.
Next, you can 3-D custom pieces in the required numbers at the place where they’re needed, rather than making thousands of miles away and then shipping.
- Nuclear fission
This is the one where my technical knowledge and understanding becomes most shaky. Nevertheless, when someone as knowledgeable as Bill Gates suggests this is the answer and the future, it gives me considerable confidence that people are probably on to something effective.
Nuclear as an option in the past was expensive and dangerous and these were tough to weigh up against the cleanliness of the fuel generated. However, the science has come a long way, meaning that in the future we can realistically look forward to abundant power generation that is both economical and safe.
- Quantum Computing
This is more by way of an indirect rather than direct impact. Quantum computing will soon allow computation of challenges way beyond what could be done until now within a reasonable time. This will lead to more rapid scientific discovery, innovation and therefore the arrival of more advanced and effective solutions.
With such exciting possibilities flowing out of scientific innovation, it can be hard to reconcile when educators talk about how students need to be persuaded and cajoled to study scientific subjects. I believe when i was in school I would have been much more inclined to study and pursue scientific subjects if it had felt like making myself a part of solving the world’s challenges and making a better world for the future.
The current, negative approach to global warming and other environmental issues focuses too much on the problems. For those who believe in, or acknowledge the power of, the law of attraction – if all you focus on is problems, all you’ll have is problems!, One impact of this continual focus on the negatives is it provokes some to believe in ridiculous denials that stand in the way of progress and present too many people with options that just turn them in to hypocrites. Its time to put all of the world’s drive, energy, creativity and vigour behind positive, science-based solutions. The focus on the negative and problems isn’t working and so, I believe we need to break out. The focus on manpower’s ingenuity, imagination, creativity and scientific skills will unleash an even greater momentum towards solutions that can take humankind forward – lift more people out of poverty, provide power and energy to people at a fraction of the environmental impact of the current energy sources and massively reduce negative impact on global warming and negative environmental impacts.
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Filed under: Educators of tomorrow, Leadership, Life, Our Environment | Tagged: 3-D printing, advanced economies, battery technology, developing countries, environment, environment change denial, environment change resistance, environmental disasters, environmental impacts, forced migration, global warming, Greta Thunberg, manmade global warming, nuclear fission, positive approach to environment, quantum computing, renewable energy, solar technology | 1 Comment »