What Have We Done?

decreasing the rate at which the level of greenhouse gases is increasing. When the people trying to tackle climate change realize that then they will be in a better position to adapt to this irreversible process. Yes, it is irreversible because natural processes cannot handle the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas levels. This rate is many hundred times any previous natural rate.

There are many other symptoms. The loss of fertile soil is having a significant effect in many regions globally. Our peak research organization, CSIRO, has carefully documented the damage that has been done in the two hundred years of European style agriculture in Australia. But the governments have encouraged little mitigating action. This probably because there is little that can be done. Our problems in that regard pale by comparison with what is happening in China and elsewhere.

The draw down of aquifer water, de-forestation and desertification are other symptoms. Concentrating on particular symptoms does not help to address the holistic problem. There is an urgent need to prioritize where we use the natural resources to the best effect – for Gaia and for us. This is particularly important with respect to oil. Oil has been the cheap source of concentrated energy that has powered industrialization and the Green revolution. It has enabled the explosive growth in the global population. Paul Ehrlich summed the situation up with “Giving society cheap abundant energy at this point would be equivalent to giving an idiot child a machine gun.” And we have made good use of that machine gun.

I find it fascinating that most people are unable to come to grips with the fact that the operation of industrial society is unsustainable. The majority just don’t get that fooling with Mother Nature has consequences – as in Newton’s third law – “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” They seem unable to comprehend that the draw down of natural capital cannot continue, even if the population and its consumption were to stop growing. This is incomprehensible, as most people are familiar with how a car operates. They know that fuel is being used, even if they are just cruising. Many are not used to thinking in terms of rate of fuel usage but they understand what is happening. Yet they do not liken the usage of oil to an emptying fuel tank. They are encouraged in this delusion by common terminology, like ‘oil production’.

So our civilization is dying. That is a fact that needs to be faced so that as much as possible can be done to ease the pain. There is a real challenge in converting society from having to doing. Sharing the remaining exhaustible resources to get the most value is imperative. Providing the means to conserve the best of our culture will not be easy but it should be done. Reducing the rate of ecological devastation without using too many resources is a real challenge for our brightest. Understanding what our activities are doing to natural checks and balances, including those in our bodies, will provide a worthwhile career for many. But the biggest problem to be tackled is the reduction of the human population. It will occur, by natural means if no other.

Who knows what can be done to relieve the pain?

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