“All grimly true, but they can be sure that they won’t be recorded for their crimes in history – because there won’t be any history” (Noam Chomsky)
No words can express the betrayal of humanity and nature as represented by the ease in which originally progressive parties and ‘leaders’ can reverse their original environmental credentials by supporting coal and gas production and export once they are in power. While claims are made of reducing domestic emissions, the export of coal, gas and oil from many parts of the world and the dissemination of greenhouse gases remains high or is rising (Figure 1).
No science fiction has been written exposing an elite of multi-billionaires, corporate executives, arms merchants, media moguls, megalomaniac lunatics and their political mouthpieces pushing humanity and species to extinction. The current promotion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) ensures neither human intelligence nor human sentiments would be able to stem cybernetic insanity.
The inexorable rise of mean global temperatures to above 1.5oC higher than in 1750, at a rate exceeding those of the great mass extinctions of species and, according to the IPCC toward 4oC late in the century, renders extreme consequences for many life forms as a consequence of abrupt weather events and changes in the chemistry of the oceans, including acidification and dissolution of carbonate shells.
As the electronic media diverts attention of people to trivial games, canned laughter, sport carnivals and petty crimes real criminals squander $trillions on looming wars and billionaire playboys spend the world’s dwindling resources on space rackets, out of the mouth of hungry children. The critical issues of war and peace, the fate of future generations and survival of species are rarely overlooked in ‘democratic’ elections.
A majority of the post-WWII generation and their offspring, trapped opposite fluorescent screens that scream canned laughter, and propagate commercial and political lies, are only dimly aware of the magnitude of even a ‘limited’ nuclear war, where radioactive emanations from a single large city cloud crops and induce famine for many weeks or months.
Consequences of global warming and a nuclear exchange include:
- Inundation of coastal cities
- Increasing risks for food production leading to malnutrition.
- Many dry regions becoming dryer and wet regions wetter.
- Unprecedented heat waves.
- Water scarcity in many regions.
- Tropical cyclones
- Loss of biodiversity, including coral reefs.
The closest analogy to the environmental disruption during the late Anthropocene (the period during which human had a significant environmental impact on the Earth) include the Palaeocene-Eocene boundary (PETM).
Meanwhile, the history of Anthropocene civilisations records regular bloodsheds between tribes and nations out of control, called ‘war’. Intermittent waves of hostility leading to violence and incessant fighting occurred repeatedly since the Neolithic, more recently, continuing since the 16th centuries, culminating with the threat of a nuclear war.
According to the clock of the atomic scientists it is 90 seconds to midnight.
Progressive parties and ‘leaders’ in positions of power must act now.
Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleoclimate scientist.
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