If one was to apply acupressure to one point on the body politic which is affecting our world-wide environment, what would that be?
Population – both its growth and the desire of masses of people around the world to live the western lifestyle.
There appears to be no one concerned about the environment who is politically brave enough to consider or voice this fundamental matter in public.
These people want/need increased electricity generation, too often coal and petroleum fueled, for their lighting, refrigerators, cooking ranges and autos ; hydrocarbon fuels for their autos, scooters, tractors and trucks; steel, cement, wire and pipes for their buildings and infrastructure.
Most certainly we all need to reduce our environmental foot print, but the number of footprints on our planet is outstripping our ability to decrease our existing environmental impact.
And so, we should not be sacrificing our economic viability in order to buy carbon credits.
In fact, the globe has been in a warming trend over the last 10,000 to 15,000 years, since the last ice age.
A greater proportion of our concern and finances should be directed at preparing for the inevitable consequences of warming – rising ocean levels, more volatile and severe weather events, warmer northern weather climes for agriculture; as well as how to deal with population growth.
Does anyone out there have any suggestions in this latter regard?
C. Wills
Vernon