Readers Write: Global warming reaches crisis stage

The Island Now

 

God gave Noah the rainbow sign

No more water but the fire next time.

from the Negro spiritual

“Mary Don’t You Weep”

 

I have often written about the evils of capitalism, mean-spirited Republicans, and how in cases like tobacco and opioid addiction, greed leads to death. But this month we have corroborating evidence of my charges.

We have blazing fires in the Amazon rain forest in Brazil. This precious resource is sometimes called “the planet’s lung” because it produces 20 percent of the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.

Who is responsible for this catastrophe? Brazil’s president Jair Bolonsaro has encouraged economic development in the rain forest which means the destruction of many species of plants and animals.

Bolsonaro’s far-right administration is responsible for over 72,000 fires between January and August 2019 compared to 39,759 in all of 2018.

What if we were told that homo sapiens had but 12 years before we became extinct? My guess is that we would call in the best scientists from around the world and see if there were some way we could avoid this apocalyptic fate.

And what if it turned out that 133 scientists drawing on more than 6,000 peer-reviewed research articles concluded that global warming was a reality. These scientists issued a report under the auspices of the United Nations.

The I.P.P.C. (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.) said that we should limit global average temperatures by 1.5 degrees C. each year. Problem solved? Not yet! We have powerful a fossil fuel industry which influences our lawmakers although their ranks have been diminished by one with the passing of David Koch.

If more proof is necessary as to the validity of global warming, John Seager writing in the September 2019 edition of Population Connection states that there are 15,364 scientists who warn that “we have unleashed a mass extinction event.”

When the scientific evidence is so overwhelming, one wonders why there are still voices which defy reason and refute science.

The answers are greed, money, and political influence, in short, the profit motive. Fossil fuel CEOs and boards of directors focus on the bottom line rather than concern for our fragile planet.

The next logical question is where Trump stands on this issue? I hope you’re not thinking that he will rise to the occasion and go down in history as the man who saved the world. Politico writes:

The Trump administration announced… it would change how it implements the Endangered Species Act weakening protections that environmentalists say violate the law and make it easier for oil companies, real estate interests and the agriculture industry to develop land inhabited by vulnerable wildlife.

Politics not a game! Some days, It determines who will live and who will die. That’s the real bottom line. For the sake of survival, keep that in mind when debating whether your vote counts.

Dr. Hal Sobel

Great Neck

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