A Cyclist's Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Do you notice the terminology «global warming» is somewhat detached from the humanity that caused it? As if it were the planet’s response to our domination, but not directly our own fault.

Deforestation today proceeds at 55,630 to 120,000 square kilometres each year. At this rate, all tropical forests may be gone by the year 2090.

I think the real reason why some people continue to deny global warming is taking place (subconsciously or not) is that they can’t deal with reality. So if they convince themselves that it would’ve happened anyway, they can simply carry on life as normal, and not have to worry about it.

For me, the notion that this is all some part of a repetitive ‘prehistoric cycle’ which man has nothing to do with is preposterous. It just happens at the same time man enters the industrial age, and is happening 10x quicker than anything before. Hello! coincidence!! The words RATE OF CHANGE have very strong meaning in the scientific community. Grand geological transformations don’t just happen over a matter of years or even decades. They are supposed to take millenia, or longer. So now that the average global sea & air temperature has risen a degree already, I think we’re already in deep shit my friends.

You might be one of the smart ones & think that the Earth’s volume is vastly superior to what we could possibly be doing on the surface. But the surface is paramount; everything that happens here depends on it. Yes, the atmosphere has the capacity to change the temperature of the entire planet and it has done so before. Still don’t believe it? The temperature and composition of the atmosphere are dynamic factors; they do not remain constant. Note I deliberately used the term «the atmosphere» because it is most definitely NOT «our» atmosphere! Look at the atmosphere of venus: it’s completly hostile. Look at the atmosphere of Mars: there is none. No one said to us «The Earth is going to remain habitable/hospitable for as long as you lot are around you know.

So I think the very least people can do is to accept that they’re RESPONSIBLE for it. Anyone who doesn’t think it is happening is worse than the flat-Earth society. Honestly. Just go bury your head in the sand somewhere, oztrich style. (see that’s what I like about a blog, I can use stronger language than a scientific paper and not have to be so damn subtle in writing and then have someone edit out my carefully chosen words.)

Now you might be asking, «okay Sherlock what can we do about it?»

Well, the next best thing you can do is consume less, or at least consume sensibly & locally. For example, we here try our utmost to do that here by recycling all cardboard, glass and plastic. We maintain a compost heap for organic waste, we re-use things like bubblewrap & we also shred our own paper waste to create our own packing materials without the need for purchasing new stuff. And isn’t this what it’s all about: STUFF. We tend not to buy over-packaged stuff. The result is that we actually throw out very little. Weeks go buy and we have thrown nothing into the conventional rubbish bin. The other thing you can do is plant a tree FFS.

Tags: Mental Anguish, Science Simplified, Vida Enigmática // Add Comment »