Apocalypse Now!

18 08 2010

I know it’s old news now but a few weeks ago a chunk of the Arctic circle, 3 times the size of Manhattan fell into the sea, some 100 square miles of glacier couldn’t hang on any longer! This piece fell off the Petermann Glacier near Greenland and it is feared may be heading into the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic.

Bizarrely this coincided with my son Lewis (8) and I watching the disaster flick ‘ The Day After Tomorrow’. I decided best not to tell Lewis about this development, as he was quite uptight after watching the film.

You may recall the film explains how a rapid ice age may occur, the fresh water from the melting ice caps, desalinizing the Atlantic Ocean and preventing the circulation of the warming tropical currents which regulate the Earths temperate climate. I love the movie as it tackles some of the biggest climate puzzles and offers some reasonable answers, and just like the movie itself many scientists rubbish the films theories on global warming and climate change. What we must remember is that many scientists aren’t independent and receive funding from political organisations!

Lewis asked me if it was going to happen like the movie, to which i replied no-one really knows, I then explained to him the that the planet is getting hotter because of greenhouse gases and the importance of saving energy.

The debate rages on about whether global warming is fact or fiction, but there’s no doubt in my mind at all, it all makes perfect sense to me and the signs are there for us all to see; if we care to look!

Pakistan and China are witnessing disastrous amounts of rainfall, the ice caps are thinning and breaking up, Russia is suffering one of the driest summers on record, which is severely damaging their crops. The weather is changing and who knows where it’s heading?

In the film only one scientist understands the signs and makes his predictions for climate change, his warning is ignored and the disaster unfolds. The key word here is ignorance. Many scientists argue that global warming is real and happening, yet an equal amount argue that the opposite is true! Therefore many people don’t know who to believe and so choose to do nothing, placing their trust and hope in their governments; who really have the environment too far down on their agendas.

Ignorance is Bliss: Ignore the lot of em I say!

I know that our behavior, as a species, is detrimental to the planet and I don’t need a scientist to tell me why it’s bad to chop down the Amazon or pollute the air / sea / soil / outer space, because it’s bloody obvious! Come on surely we all understand this??

There’s a famous saying in my country ” You don’t bite the hand that feeds you!”  Well I’m afraid we are and pretty soon the planet will struggle to support human life!!! More and more famine will occur and in parts of the world that aren’t accustomed to it too! This will see migration of people and civil unrest will follow, wars over soil – not oil will ensue.

We mustn’t wait for the scientists to agree on this we must take this upon us to do our bit at home and work now, we must pressure our leaders into doing more! Insisting on more public transport, tax breaks for non car families, free cycles for people to ride in towns and cities, lobbying for more green energy (solar being a preference please). Etc Etc Etc.

I hate it when lazy bastards throw rubbish on the streets, rather than finding a dustbin! (think about how much energy we waste just picking up other peoples filth!!) Not to mention the horrid effect on our environment!

I haven’t seen Al Gore’s film the ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, why? I don’t think I need to see it because I’ve already accepted this truth and I fear it may upset me watching it…… maybe that’s the whole point of it? Well I think I’ll get a copy all the same……….

Good Luck wherever you are and I hope the weather is kind to you!

Respect and Peace!

@dam