Citizen Power

The trouble with predictions is that they can’t be sure. Two doomsday scenarios painted for us by two experts in their field in the space of two days. Has global warming already doomed us? Personally, I don’t think so, but at least one scientist does. On Monday morning, climate expert James Lovelock told a BBC Today’s morning audience that it was too late, and we should forget alternative energy, and that trying to stop warming would all be for nothing. He said we should be focusing on survival and how to save the human race.

Lovelock said he felt that Canada and some countries like England would withstand climate change OK, and those were the countries where climate refugees would migrate to, so those of us lucky enough to live in the north already should be preparing for that. (I’m hoping the northern U.S. escapes the worst of it too). His viewpoint was not met with skepticism by the BBC reporter, but with a sort of acceptance and sadness. Lovelock said we should be building hospitals and planning our cities for mass food distribution and mass housing, when the time comes, which he felt that would be sometime within 100 years. The reason the situation might get so grim, in his estimation, is that climate change is going to bring us to a temperature rise of 5 degree Celsius, there is nothing we can do to stop it, and that earth can’t support the 7 billion people that will be here when that happens. There will be incredible food shortages and migrations from the coast, and not enough fresh water for so many people in a shrinking land mass. So, he said he felt about 6 billion humans will die. I certainly hope he’s wrong, and he admitted that’s totally possible. Still, even to think of that many people not making because of something we could do something about now is terrible.

That was the worst prediction I had heard yet. But now another “prediction” has come to light, although the second guy doesn’t feel we’re all doomed for sure like Lovelock does. The 2nd prediction is for mass and extended war for land and resources. That’s a terrifying scenario. Here is the story from South Africa, and I strongly hope this is only the “worst case scenario”. In this case, an economist is the one making the dire prediction. Can he be right or are these people too pessimistic? We are only just now starting to do what we can about C02 emissions and it will take years before these things are put into place.

Mass migrations and war: Dire climate scenario
By Charles J. Hanley

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — If we don’t deal with climate change decisively, “what we’re talking about then is extended world war,” the eminent economist said.

His audience Saturday, small and elite, had been stranded here by bad weather and were talking climate. They couldn’t do much about the one, but the other was squarely in their hands. And so, Lord Nicholas Stern was telling them, was the potential for mass migrations setting off mass conflict.

“Somehow we have to explain to people just how worrying that is,” the British economic thinker said.

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