06/14/2024
"The world is facing a 'semi-dystopian' future" (National Observer, 2024)
"Bill Rees bluntly states, 'the human enterprise is effectively subsuming the ecosphere' and 'wide-spread societal collapse cannot be averted — collapse is not a problem to be solved, but rather the final stage of a cycle to be endured.'"
"Wade Davis … recently said, 'Doom and gloom will never encourage people to action. Only hope and the promise of a better world will lead to action. He argued that we survived the Second World War and other crises and, in the end, we will be fine."
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The contrast in views between ecologist/ecological economist and retired UBC professor Bill Rees and UBC Professor of Anthropology Dr. Wade Davis could hardly be more stark.
At most only one of these academics can be right.
Is our species going down for the count, or will we be fine?
How could we possibly be fine if ecosystems collapse?
While Dr. Rees may be closer to the truth about our fate, his prescriptions are not remotely realistic. Which means we are doomed, in his scenario.
Dr. Wade Davis "refuses to embrace conventional wisdom on climate change" (Washington Post). Hardly reassuring. After a cursory online search, I am unable to pin down his specific objections. (Anybody know?) Be on guard about academics' speaking outside their field of expertise, particularly when they challenge scientific consensus.
IPCC projections may well be the best-case scenario. Not only will humanity fail to slow global warming any time soon, I believe, but the climate impacts may well be worse than the conservative IPCC projects.
The ocean covers 70% of the Earth. Marine ecosystems are well on their way to collapse due to warming, acidification, pollution, plastics, overfishing, destructive fishing, loss of habitat (coral reef bleaching), and loss of biodiversity (from the base of the food chain, plankton, to apex predators, sharks and whales). Sea level rise is likely to continue for millennia, even if emissions and warming stop tomorrow. Large parts of the tropics and subtropics are likely to become uninhabitable. Crop failures due to heatwaves, flooding, and saltwater intrusion will wreak havoc on food supplies and rural communities. Hundreds of millions of climate refugees on the move. Emissions from huge wildfires create an unstoppable climate feedback.
When even environmentalists and climate scientists/activists are unwilling to change their ways, what hope is there for the rest of humanity?
w w w [dot] nationalobserver [dot] com [slash] 2024 [slash] 06 [slash] 14 [slash] opinion [slash] science-civilization-collapse-environment-limits
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