Isaac Newton once said, “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.” He had a point. Some aspects of civilization had progressed considerably. But, despite advances in understanding of some fundamental principles, science was still in the Dark Ages.
But what would Sir Isaac say now? What we now know is a few drops, a bucket full perhaps, or maybe a puddle or a pond, but surely not an ocean? No doubt he would marvel at our technological advances – imagine watching objects fall and providing an explanation of gravity, only to see gravity defied with ease. But, for all the drops that we now know, are we able to combine them into a larger body of water, something that has a bigger, broader, more universal meaning? This is clearly one of the major challenges in the future. ( Journal of Cell Science)
It is ironic that, just as we are making progress towards a fuller understanding of the universe, a unified theory of physics, we are busy insisting on pouring CO2 into the atmosphere and then denying that we have any responsibility for the mass starvation, displacement, war and death that we are wishing on our grandchildren. Why? Because man-made climate change is going to swamp whole cities, make marginal land unliveable in, cause mass migration and, consequently, bloodshed. On top of all this there will be disease and a failure of water supplies. Climate change denial is a gigantic failure of the imagination. And all of this with a world population of about 11 billion by the end of the century! Epicurean peace of mind will be in short supply.
Perhaps we should prepare a “memorial before death” to the hard and self- absorbed people now profiting from CO2 emissions and standing in the way of action. They should be memorialised so that the surviving world knows will know who they were. The Climate Change Wall of Infamy?
Yes! Or, “The Wall of Shame.” You can’t run a planet on pure self-centered greed–it will self-destruct. . .as we see. (Probably 11 ‘Billion,’ is what you meant.)
I wouldn’t be quite this pessimistic. If humans are good at anything, its making money. If climate change will be this costly, then individuals, governments and corporations will have every incentive to act against it. Also, climate change is widely accepted- amongst both all of the world’s leading governments (even China is very concerned) and the majority of people in the countries most responsible for climate change. America is probably the country where climate scepticism is most prevalent. But even there, CO2 emissions are falling due to higher standards imposed by the EPA, as well as the increasing use of natural gas (which produces less CO2 than coal.)