Avoiding war and warming beyond 2°C

Thinking about climate from a different point of view

The climate story has evolved from a clear warning more than 30 years ago to a poorly understood emergency today. No one has experienced life in a 2°C hotter world. We have not reached 1.5°C and Australia is burning, and Indonesia is drowning.

Earth is sometimes called the Third Rock from the Sun and seen by some as a free source of fossil fuels and minerals, and a waste disposal for toxic emissions and industrial pollution.

Ancient civilizations respected the natural world. Indigenous people have different names for Mother Earth, our source of air, water, shelter, and food. Our Mother and all life on the planet deserve love, respect and protection.

The Ice Age started 2.6 million years ago. Ice sheets miles thick covered most of the planet. It ended 12,000 years ago when the Earth warmed 5°C creating the ecosystem we used to have when life was good.

Local temperature changes several degrees during the day, but the energy needed to warm the oceans and land of the planet by just 1°C is immense.

Ignoring the ecologic principle that everything is connected to everything else, we have contaminated our food, air, and water. Ignoring the cumulative impact of carbon emissions, we have created global warming.

Dismissing emission-free solar and wind energy, environmental regulations are discarded as burdensome to build pipelines, frack shale plays, and remove mountain tops for coal.

Loving Mother Nature

Charles Eisenstein sees Earth as a living planet we must heal from ecological devastation. Healing what is broken and protecting what is whole, we can avoid warming beyond 2°C. Here are the actions that we must take in parallel.

1. Protect life in pristine, original conditions. Rainforests, wetlands, areas of the oceans that are still relatively pristine have to be protected. Pro-forestation, keeping old-growth forests untouched, is the best way to capture carbon dioxide.
2. Heal damaged ecosystems with permaculture, regenerative agriculture, and re-forestation.
3. Stop poisoning the soil, air, rivers, and oceans with heavy metals, pharmaceutical waste, radioactive waste, and industrial pollution.
4. Use less energy and avoid waste.
5. Promote distributed solar and wind energy generation and energy storage. Draw down greenhouse gas emissions.

Indonesia drowns while Australia burns

The climate emergency is real. People are trapped and wild animals are dying as the world watches on the news.

Indonesia suffers the effects of deforestation, coal mining, oil palm plantations, and massive waste. Indonesia is three times larger than Texas and has a population more than 265 million. Extreme rain all over the country is causing massive flooding.

Australia is 11 times larger than Texas and has a population over 25 million. Bushfires all over the country have killed more than one billion animals, causing the extinction of some species. Displaced people and wildlife have nowhere to go, and the government has no resources to stop the wildfires.

Rise above despair

Many people are concerned with the new climate. Despair comes from trying many alternatives without results. There are many initiatives but the production and use of fossil fuels has increased. Political leaders in Australia and America have chosen lumps of coal over survival, ecological crimes for profit. We need urgent action. Hope without action is delusional. Love drives action.

Knowledge is our best weapon

Please Google “A new climate story” “Half-Earth” “Pro-forestation” “Tropical Nature” and “Energy storage solutions.”

The world changed when Trump changed the dynamic

Peace with Iran is in our hands. Hoping Iran will ignore the assassination of its top military leader is delusional. We need to treat Iran with respect and compassion.

The U.S. Congress must make the final choice on what happens with Iran. Time is of the essence. We must demand to have our representatives do their job and speak for the people, not Trump. This is a planetary emergency.

Please contact your representatives and demand a full explanation of why Trump ordered the assassination. If Congress gives Trump a pass, Iran will have the power to retaliate.

Dr. Luis Contreras