On the brink
Thirty-six of the world's forty dolphin species are in trouble. Dolphins have to come close to the top of the list of charismatic megafauna. Many of the other contenders for top place are also in trouble. Lions used to the be the second most widespread mammal (after homo sapiens), found throughout all continents except Australia and Antarctica, but have been hunted to extinction everywhere except parts of Africa and one tiny piece of India. Their numbers continue to drop precipitously: from perhaps 400,000 in 1950 to about 20,000 today.
John Cook: Are you a genuine sceptic or a climate denier? I've been planning a post along these lines for a while btu have never got to it. Now John has beat me to it.
Guardian: Australian ethicist Peter Singer is now leaning towards moral objectivism (that things are right or wrong independently of our desires) due to the difficulties faced by subjectivism in the face of climate change.
Seventeen Nobel Prize laureates and forty other experts warn: "we are transgressing planetary boundaries that have kept civilization safe for the past 10,000 years".
The World Meteorological Organization believes that extreme weather made worse by climate change will (continue to) undermine global food production.
Clive Hamilton argues the case for environmental radicalism. Asking nicely didn't cut the mustard for the suffragettes or the civil rights movement.
Joe Romm lays out the disturbing findings of a Royal Society conference last year discussing the impacts of a 4 degrees temperature rise. This is pretty much where we are headed at the moment with our all too modest attempts at mitigation. Or rather, this is where we are headed within the lifetime of those already born. Our ultimate destination may be far, far worse. This was the conference that convinced Clive Hamilton that it is necessary for us to despair.
Onion: Yet another species on the brink of extinction.
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6 comments:
Perhaps massive Nuclear war now will save future generations.
"The World Meteorological Organization believes that extreme weather made worse by climate change will (continue to) undermine global food production."
I wonder how this will play out in the politics of GMOs. For a number of decades people (Sen, Rawls, Nussbaum, Shiva etc) argued that famine is an issue of political and social infrastructure, not production of food.
Following the cyclones and floods in FNQ people have suggested that we modify bananas so that we can grow them in South Australia where the climate is stable.
Do you think the (perceived) state of emergency surrounding climate change and food production could further open the door for GMOs - particularly in Europe?
Scott Meyer: A comment on Mark Zuckerberg's decision.
@Christopher:
Do you think the (perceived) state of emergency surrounding climate change and food production could further open the door for GMOs - particularly in Europe?
Yes, I think we are already seeing such an argument being made. There is currently a debate about the future of food. Will it be a greater industrialisation of scale and genetic manipulation by large corporate entities (that is, a continuation of our current path, but more so), or will it be into greater labour intensity combined with intelligent closed loop system management that reduces or removes the requirement of significant and unsustainable inputs (petro-fertilisers and phosphates). The former is the default and has all the money and momentum. The latter actually promises higher yields while preserving soil health, but requires much greater social transformation. Once again, a better solution is available but we are far more likely to take the easier road because change is hard.
BTW, when you put "perceived" in brackets, does this mean you don't buy the claim that there is a looming food crisis in coming decades?
Clive Hamilton on Peter Singer's consent-based utilitarianism, bestiality and infanticide. There is much interesting discussion in the comments.
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