Climate Change…The End of the Debate
There has been a lot of debate over the issue of global climate change for decades. Greg Craven, a science teacher in Corvallis, Oregon, set out to put an end to the debate. His video “How It All Ends” can be viewed here. Greg points out that, “…no one is perfect, so every choice brings with it a risk if that choice turns out to be a mistake.” The uncertainty makes the real “climate change” issue about risk management, not whether humans are responsible for the changes going on in the environment.
When comparing the worse case scenarios from both the critics of climate change and the activists urging action, the choice is clear. The risk of listening to the activists who are urging action and ignoring the critics, worse case, is harm to the economy and pursuing actions that prove unneeded. However, ignoring the activists, worse case, could create global upheaval throwing many systems awry. The consequences have the potential to disrupt many of the systems we count on for the stability of our lives; environmental, public health, social, political, and economic systems. Although global destabilization is not likely, the choice that carries the more acceptable risk is clear.
Despite there being evidence that shows humans may not be responsible for the climate change that is occurring, can any of us be so sure that we are willing to risk the entire upheaval of all of these systems that keep our lives in order?
The real crisis we face is one of selfishness and lack of individual responsibility propagated and condoned by our modern money mechanics, and outdated ideas of scarcity and unlimited growth.
While there may still be doubt if humans are the primary cause of global climate change, there is no doubt that we affect all of the living things around us. This change towards living more harmoniously with all life begins inside each one of us. Creating a significant global change is easy. All we have to do is change ourselves and the rest takes care of itself. We may find that we have had the ability to create a clean, healthy ecosystem and biosphere all along, but let’s not wait to find out before we begin to make a change.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi
The Om Unity Community gives thanks to Larry for sharing this great video with us.
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Posted on 06/29/2009 04:44 pm