{"id":77282,"date":"2016-08-08T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=77282"},"modified":"2016-08-06T17:28:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-06T16:28:24","slug":"our-deteriorating-environment-is-anybody-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/08\/our-deteriorating-environment-is-anybody-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Deteriorating Environment: Is Anybody Listening?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/GurtovMel.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-76219\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/GurtovMel-150x150.png\" alt=\"GurtovMel\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/GurtovMel-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/GurtovMel.png 167w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><em>6 Aug 2016 &#8211; <\/em>While the scientists have been doing their job in calling attention to the multiple ways in which environmental decline threatens the planet, we hear less and less from political leaders.\u00a0 Their focus is on the here-and-now\u2014terrorism, jobs, immigration\u2014and not on commitments to the future.\u00a0 Last year\u2019s Paris Agreement on climate change seems like a distant memory.<\/p>\n<p>Here is some of the latest scientific evidence, which points not only to the magnitude and immediacy of the problem but also to the interdependence of its parts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Five scientists from the <a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/nature.com\/articles\/nclimate2552.epdf?referrer_access_token=7oSbz7W5G_Zu_N5b5JmusdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Maxp1OzOdsuIUQta_dtboeC8k_NOqTYhxR_a0SVlI3zfSvlCsgwTT4dXi7M80FgNdpLpEW3skOMBGkZAxvDYrmoIpwddeFMpMCZ3NXf83otVWGMXVi9DfNAtCgG2_mbsUL67AcJrr-a0yhNwVOY_TBzVwvKECuDZpEP9XjzI1CG1Mg37xh3WWu_1AVESGRZ3M%3D&amp;tracking_referrer=thinkprogress.org\">Global Change Research Institute<\/a>, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in College Park, Maryland, give findings on the rate of climate change increase\u2014\u201cunprecedented for at least the past 1,000 years\u201d\u2014and therefore the need for an accelerated response.<\/li>\n<li>To the now familiar melting of the Arctic ice packs\u2014which the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/atmos-phys-chem.net\/16\/3761\/2016\">most recent study<\/a> shows is likely to cause a sea level rise of \u201cat least several meters\u201d\u2013 should be added the equally if not more dangerous thawing of the permafrost, which means <a href=\"http:\/\/wapo.st\/1xXHKvy\" >increasing emissions<\/a> of methane and carbon dioxide. \u201cIndeed,\u201d Chris Mooney reports, \u201cscientists have discovered a simple statistic that underscores the scale of the potential problem: There may be more than twice as much carbon contained in northern permafrost as there is in the atmosphere itself. That\u2019s a staggering thought.\u201d (Methane, by the way, seems to be the unsung villain: all the attention to carbon dioxide, Bill McKibben tells us in <em>The Nation<\/em>, detracts from methane\u2019s equally potent heat trapping.\u00a0 Increased use of natural gas, plus fracking, are significantly increasing methane emissions in the U.S.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The world\u2019s largest forest \u201ccarbon sink,\u201d the Amazon basin, is losing its ability to soak up excess carbon dioxide, a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/nyti.ms\/1G6DLhr\" >British study<\/a> reports. In a nutshell, growth\u2014i.e., conversion of forest land to agriculture\u2014is outpacing forest sustainability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Human expansion, such as in the Amazon basin, is imperiling the ecosystem itself. A <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/energy-environment\/wp\/2016\/07\/14\/the-diversity-of-life-across-much-of-earth-has-plunged-below-safe-levels-scientists-say\/\" >study<\/a> by European scientists finds that biodiversity levels have fallen below the point where the ecosystem can remain intact.\u00a0 Species decline of 10 percent, the scientists estimate, is dangerous; \u201cbut their study found that overall, across the globe, the average decline is already more like 15 percent. \u00a0In other words, original species are only about 85 percent as abundant\u00a0(84.6 percent to be precise) as they were before human land-use changes.\u201d Climate change will add substantially to this sobering assessment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>A new UN Environment Programme report covering all parts of the globe found that well-known problems are intensifying. Two problems in particular: \u201cOne was worsening air pollution problems, driven, again, by large populations and the swelling of urban cores. Another was widespread\u00a0water scarcity problems, exacerbated by climate change but also greater demand in growing cities.\u201d More than 1,200 scientists from 160 countries participated in the <a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/washingtonpost.com\/news\/energy-environment\/wp\/2016\/05\/23\/the-pace-of-environmental-damage-is-intensifying-across-the-globe-u-n-agency-says\/\">study<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The first-ever <a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/27\/science\/decline-of-species-that-pollinate-poses-a-threat-to-global-food-supply-report-warns.html\">international report<\/a> on declining populations of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators underscores the looming threat to world food supplies and the agricultural system that supports it. The causes of pollinator extinction are well known: global warming, pesticides, and overuse of agricultural land.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>New <a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/23\/science\/sea-level-rise-global-warming-climate-change.html\">studies<\/a> of flooding confirm that rising sea levels as the result of global warming are occurring at a faster rate than ever before. The coastal flooding witnessed in recent years in Miami, Charleston, and Norfolk is likely to be more frequent and prolonged in the future.\u00a0 Ocean levels may rise up three to four feet by 2100.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>China, while promising to draw 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources, is, in fact, continuing to construct coal-fired plants\u2014on average, one plant\u00a0a week\u00a0until 2020, according to the latest <a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/nytimes.com\/interactive\/2016\/07\/13\/world\/asia\/China-Coal-Power.html\">Greenpeace report<\/a>. The extraordinary fact about this new construction is that it creates huge excess capacity, the result not of central government dictates but rather of permits for investment in coal-fired plants by leaders in distant provinces.\u00a0 Unless this trend stops, as much as $200 billion will be wasted, and water availability will dramatically decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two pieces of good news: nuclear power is in trouble everywhere, and the ozone \u201chole\u201d over the Antarctic is starting to heal.\u00a0 The latest \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldnuclearreport.org\/\" >World Nuclear Industry Status Report<\/a><em>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0details the numerous nuclear power plants that have been or in a short time will be shut down.\u00a0 Financing problems, aging plants, and technical breakdowns are a big part of the reason; but competition from renewable energy sources is becoming the most important factor.\u00a0 The future energy picture is captured in this notation:\u00a0 \u201cGlobally, wind power output grew by 17 percent, solar by 33 percent, nuclear by 1.3 percent\u201d in the past year, and \u201cBrazil, China, India, Japan and the Netherlands now all generate more electricity from wind turbines alone than from nuclear power plants.\u201d Meantime, thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocol that phased out ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/energy-environment\/wp\/2016\/06\/30\/the-antarctic-ozone-hole-has-finally-started-to-heal-scientists-report\" >ozone layer<\/a> is growing back\u2014a sign that international agreements backed by a coalition of scientists do work.<\/p>\n<p>Public opinion trails behind scientific findings on climate change, according to Pew Research Center polls.\u00a0 The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2016\/04\/18\/what-the-world-thinks-about-climate-change-in-7-charts\/\" >urgency of climate change<\/a> is felt more strongly in Europe and Latin America than in the U.S. and China. \u00a0That fact is worrisome: Americans and Chinese, who live in the biggest carbon producing societies, should be the most concerned about climate change. On the other hand, Americans\u2019 concern is rising again: the percentage of Americans polled by Gallup in 2016 who believe climate change is a worrisome problem stands at 64 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, only <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2016\/04\/18\/what-the-world-thinks-about-climate-change-in-7-charts\/\" >10 percent of U.S. adults<\/a> now discount global warming as a major problem. But before we celebrate, we need to remind ourselves that expressions of concern don\u2019t equate to what people are willing to do to combat the problem, even at the polls.\u00a0 And if many of them are inclined to \u201clet the politicians figure it out,\u201d or hide behind \u201cI\u2019m not a scientist\u201d disclaimers, we\u2019re in great trouble.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, climate change is barely on the election-year agenda.\u00a0 That\u2019s hardly surprising in the case of Donald Trump, a climate change denier.\u00a0 His comeuppance will be when his prize Florida hotel, Mar-a-Lago, goes <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2016\/jul\/06\/donald-trump-climate-change-florida-resort\" >under water<\/a> in perhaps thirty years, along with many other coastal properties as mentioned above.\u00a0 Beaches and streets are already flooding in Miami.\u00a0 As for Hillary Clinton, she has mentioned global warming of course, but it\u2019s clearly not a high priority in her campaign.\u00a0 Whether or not that changes in her presidency remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>A final thought, which comes from an <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/04\/19\/opinion\/a-new-dark-age-looms.html\" >opinion piece<\/a> by William Gail, former president of the American Meteorological Society: Future generations may have to start from scratch in grappling with the \u201cnew dark age\u201d of climate-altering changes.\u00a0 Their learning process will have been disrupted.\u00a0 Models, technologies, and other resources used to identify patterns, and predict and act on Earth\u2019s dramatic changes, will be largely useless.\u00a0 Our children and grandchildren have no idea what they are inheriting.<\/p>\n<p>__________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em>Mel\u00a0Gurtov, syndicated by\u00a0<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peacevoice.info\/\" ><em>PeaceVoice<\/em><\/a><em>, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University and blogs at\u00a0<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mgurtov.wordpress.com\/\" ><em>In the Human Interest<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>6 Aug 2016 &#8211; While the scientists have been doing their job in calling attention to the multiple ways in which environmental decline threatens the planet, we hear less and less from political leaders.  Their focus is on the here-and-now\u2014terrorism, jobs, immigration\u2014and not on commitments to the future.  Last year\u2019s Paris Agreement on climate change seems like a distant memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}