So, 15,000 eminent scientists have issued a collective warning about the fate of humanity if we do not face up to global warming and other issues, concerns that we should have been tackling since their first alert twenty five years ago.
Whatever one's views on climate change, it seems to me that (even for the sceptics out there) one thing is for sure, the message the scientists are sending out is an important one. That is to cut pollution and waste, find more efficient energy production and do everything that we can to protect the environment. Nobody in their right mind would object to those goals. And yet the scientists are not telling us anything new. Their message is old news because, at least in the Western world, we have known our responsibilities for decades. The problem is that the general population have no intention at all of changing their way of life. I don't see vast numbers of people giving up their cars, I don't see concern for the environment or the welfare of animals amongst the majority of people – and for all their sanctimonious words, I don't even see science and industry making much progress in saving the planet. Behind all the 'green' innovation there still lies a primary focus on making money. Electric cars, as an example, are no more green than petrol cars when one takes into account their manufacture and the infrastructure involved in maintaining them, despite all the glitzy advertising suggesting that they are more ethical in some way. It's little more than a marketing ploy. People continue to cut down trees in increasing numbers, whether it's vast ancient forests such as those in the path of the HS2 rail fiasco in the UK or the South American rainforests or individual trees in suburbia. And this in spite of everything we know and have known for years – we need trees. So even with scientists issuing joint statements warning us of impending doom, the biggest problem of all is getting anybody to actually give a damn. Sad to say, people just don't want to change. We all know the consequences but disaster is just far away enough into the future that we can all be detached, safe in the knowledge that we will be long gone when the real problems begin. Humankind is inherently selfish. We know that animals suffer so that we can eat our burgers and chicken nuggets, we know that our plastic ends up in the oceans and we know that our planet is dying – but unfortunately no-one really cares enough to make the shift in lifestyle necessary to turn things around. That's the truth of it. And it's not just the people, it's the governments....and probably most of those 15,000 scientists too. And nobody will hold themselves accountable. “It's terrible but what can I do?” we all cry. Pass the responsibility on to someone else – desperately shifting the blame – some even going so far as to suggest that global warming is down to flatulence from cows. If it wasn't so very sad then it would be funny. Human beings are the problem. Leave the world to the animals and plants and it would, without doubt, be a naturally balanced paradise. So, unless a vast wave of sudden compassion washes over the population of the world, the warning from 15,000 scientists might as well just be more hot air contributing to global warming. Earlier in the year I wrote a poem for Earth Day, that one day a year when we are all supposed to take time out and think about our home, the earth. I'm republishing it here today, sadly it seems fitting. Blackbird song was plaintive, crying "Hurry now the earth is dying" Swallow, Swift no longer bring their magic flight to welcome Spring. Summer sun is hazy, fleeting Glimpses of the past repeating Echoes of a life now gone With little chance to carry on. Mankind killed us all, abandon all the life he killed at random Pumping gases, poison raining on the earth, no life remaining. All the beauty now has perished All the wondrous life once cherished Leaving but a barren waste Where once the whole of life embraced The miracle created here. Man made the magic disappear. © Jason Endfield 2017. All rights reserved.
4 Comments
Rebecca
14/11/2017 05:05:06 pm
I’m feeling your despair and frustration here, Jason. I share it in some measure. But hopelessness is paralyzing. Futility is not a motivator. And bleak negativity hasn’t ever been the inspiration for anyone to make a change.
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14/11/2017 05:42:35 pm
I admire your positivity hugely and much of the time I share your outlook. I really am a positive person :) But I worry that very many people have lost any connection with the natural world. When we had the sensitivity to work with nature instead of against it, we had the knowledge to exist in the world without destroying it. Self destruction is not a natural state of being and yet that is what we are doing - and we're taking everything else with us. While good folks like yourself are doing what they can, it can never be enough without governments taking the lead and showing the way. And that's a problem because I don't believe that those in power have any intention at all of taking this lead, let alone industries that may even disguise their destructive ways in 'green' garments (see wind farms, electric cars and more, all of which cause just as many problems as they claim to solve).
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15/11/2017 09:29:05 am
I am in agreement with what you say, Jason. I refer particularly to the way in which goods are manufactured - so that they have to be replaced rather than repaired.
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15/11/2017 04:42:15 pm
Hi Nigel,
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