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Responding to climate disasters

Waste Nothing

The fastest way to cut carbon emissions and pollution is to cut waste. Half of everything produced is wasted at some stage or another.

1. The evidence for climate change problems

What evidence is there that humans change the planet? (And could therefore change it for the better rather than for the worse.)

Focusing only on ‘climate change’ alone avoids the whole bag of present anthropogenic mismanagement. Humans change most of the face of the earth, and much of the oceans, drive increasing numbers of fauna and flora to extinction, change weather and soils by deforestation, cover fertile land with mega cities and rubbish. Even the little plastic bags deal death. From space the world at night is seen lit up with electric lights, and heat rises in smogs from cities and a billion cars.

‘Climate change’ is only one of the dooms warned about by scientists or horror-fiction films (so easily confused together). It is not just the greenhouse gases, the despoiling of environment and the destruction of war that vested interests want to stay blind about. It is not like false panics such as the Y2bug or the Millennium Tomorrow, but like the many warnings in the past that have proven true.

Here are examples of sources of the evidence that nature and humans together are now threatening to wreck our world.

  1. How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic, at <http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics> covers Scientific Topics, Types of Argument, Levels of Sophistication, and Stages of Denial such as - There is no evidence, One record year is not global warming, The temperature records are unreliable,The scientists aren't even sure, and Contradictory evidence, such as It's cold today in Wagga Wagga, The East Antarctic ice sheet is growing ,and The satellites show cooling. Also <http://www.climatecodered.net> and < http://bravenewclimate.com/>
  2. Global temperatures rising. This is not the only problem, but see URL examples
    <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OceanCooling/> <http://www.climatecodered.net/permafrost.html> <http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/references.html>
  3. Seas rising <http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/rising-seas.html><http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/glaciers.html#glaciers>
    < http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/tropics-oceans.html>
  4. Ice melting <http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/antarctica.html > <http://www.climatecodered.net/arctic.html>
    <http://books.google.com.au/books?id=VWnxpAxp6TMC&pg=PA320&lpg=PA320&dq=coast+lines+building+up&source=web&ots=9CsNMOcUbk&sig=q-mVdlZBhnErB4eh iEc1kfUGcg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result>
  5. Changes in where and how things grow – e.g. further up mountains, extensions of deserts and risks to coral reefs - <http://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/biosphere/index.html>
    <http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/tropics-oceans.html>
  6. Changes in animal patterns of behaviour – migrations, reproduction etc
    <http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/antarctica.html>
    <http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/tropics-oceans.html>
    <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091600607.html>
  7. Changes in local weather patterns <http://climatechange.ws/weather>
  8. More extreme weather patterns of droughts and floods <http://www.climatechange.com.au/tag/drought/>
  9. Winds <http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/hurricanes-and-climate-change.html>
  10. Greenhouse gases <http://www.climatechange.gov.au/science/faq/question1.html>
  11. How humans are likely to have/have had an effect
    <http://climatechange.ws/facts/> <http://www.foe.org.au/climate-justice/issues/climate-change-briefing/climate-change-is-not-caused-by-humans> <http://nationalacademies.org/onpi/06072005.pdf> <www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/myths/index.html>
    Population: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/summaries.html <http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/> <http://home.vicnet.net.au/ozideas> and <http://candobetter.org/>
  12. Other URLS- : The world at night seen from space <apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html>; Number of cars and how much oil; Reduced biodiversity;Forests blazing; Seas polluted; Areas covered by 40 world cities < http://www.rainforests.net/cities.htm>
  13. Vested interests. – which are the greater? Vested interests of scientists: Vested interests of polluters, business, financiers, governments. Even carbon traders may be cynics.
  14. Solutions - <getup.org.au> <http://home.vicnet.net.au/~ozideas>
  15. Some books and other references:
  16. Climate Code Red - the case for emergency action Spratt & Sutton
  17. Seasick - Alanna Mitchell, on Temperature and acidity changes
  18. Living in the Hothouse Ian Lowe
  19. Six Degrees - our future on a hot planet Mark Lynas
  20. Scorcher - the dirty politics of climate change Clive Hamilton
  21. Overloading Australia – Mark O’Connor, on population
    <http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2009/01/15/negative-emissions-needed-for-a-safe-climate-world-watch-institute/?source=cmailer>

2. Action on climate change

Still relevant in 2008, the article below was written on March 3 2000, as current news reported floods worse than usual in Mozambique, Europe, South-East Asia and Northern Australia, cyclones in North America, and record freezes in Russia.

All-time records are being set for a global scenario of climatic disasters, with record floods, droughts, heat, cold and cyclones in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and America.

Immense and increasing costs of emergency aid, relief and rebuilding are overtaking costs of wars.

We need to set benchmarks now.

At what stage will each Australian - or anyone - decide that world-wide catastrophes require personal response? Possibilities are: -

1. They are a freak combination that will not recur.

a) Do nothing.
b) Cut down on our waste so that we can rehabilitate the victims and their lands.

2. It is a global change like past Ice Ages that cannot be prevented.

a) Do nothing.
b) Start preparing to live in a world of environmental catastrophe.

3. Many scientists predicted climate change resulting from human changes to the atmosphere through massive pollution and environmental degradation.

a) Do nothing until too late; then have Very Sorry Days.
b) Do something - e.g. what Australia will do about the exponentially increasing millions of economic refugees overseas - and here.
c) Do everything. Individuals, nations and corporations can make massive changes to our life-styles to stem climate change. In Australia this would make a million jobs; it would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in waste-making.

The solidarity, enthusiasm and self-sacrifice that is poured into destructive wars against common enemies can be aroused for a constructive war against a common global enemy - the ravage of climate changes that are the looming World War III.

And see also the websites of

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