PLAYING CHEMISTRY WITH THE EARTH: It would be appropriate
for all of us to be wearing white lab coats. Like kids who used to play around
with chemistry sets in the basement, we are playing around with the chemistry
of the earth’s atmosphere as we do understandable things like drive cars to get
where we need to go, and run furnaces to stay warm in winter. This is powerful
chemistry. In just a couple hundred years, our machines have increased the
concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere by 40%, and made the oceans 30% more
acidic. Imagine if your blood pH or sugar levels changed by that much.
ABOVE GROUND vs UNDERGROUND: Like water, carbon
dioxide (CO2) is a “good” molecule that can be harmful if there’s too much of
it in the wrong place. Plants eat CO2 to make food. We then eat the food and exhale
CO2, which then dutifully flies off to feed the plants again. This is the
wonderful, eternal cycle of carbon in our above ground world. Meanwhile, CO2 in
the air acts like an invisible blanket, keeping the planet warm. What’s not to
like? It took hundreds of millions of years for the earth to establish a
hospitable balance between the carbon above ground and the carbon stored
underground (as coal, oil, and natural gas). By digging up those underground
fuels and releasing their carbon into the air through exhaust pipes and
chimneys, we upset that balance and radically change the climate. About half of
the extra CO2 is absorbed by the oceans, where it turns into an acid. The other
half stays in that thin layer of atmosphere above us, where it acts like the
closed windows of a parked car in summer, trapping more and more of the sun’s
heat. Thus, too much of a “good” molecule does harm.
THE EARTH AS A BODY: Why should we be worried if the earth heats up
a couple degrees? Think of how you feel if your internal temperature rises
above 98.6 degrees. A degree or two makes a big difference. Our bodies closely
regulate things like temperature, blood sugar levels, and pH. The earth’s
systems, too, are affected by even small changes in overall temperature.
UN-INTENTION: News, movies, and the law focus on those
who do intentional harm. But what if the greatest harm is being done
unintentionally and legally--a sort of collateral damage built into the
lifestyles of good people doing good things? Climate change demonstrates the
power of collective action, as each one of us contributes un-intentionally
to the problem. Meanwhile, political forces undermine our collective capacity
to act intentionally to find solutions. We then become victims of
unintended consequences.
POPULATION:
Population growth multiplies each individual’s personal environmental impact.
Thus, each must become more responsible even as sheer numbers make us feel
individually less influential. Accumulating collective capacity for good or
harm comes as the consequent growth in the size of institutions makes them more
unwieldy.
SPEED OF CHANGE: Though climate has
changed in the past, the speed of today’s human-caused change is many times
faster than the historical norm, overwhelming nature’s capacity to adapt.
A DIABOLICAL WAY TO RUIN A PLANET: An overdose of carbon dioxide is the ultimate diabolical way to
sabotage life’s oasis in space. The fossil fuels are wonderfully useful, the
resulting pollution is invisible and without odor, the negative impacts are
delayed, early symptoms are hidden within normal weather fluctuations, and the
effect is permanent.
No comments:
Post a Comment