Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former
—quote attributed to Albert Einstein
No fanfare at all accompanied the release of the United Nation's World Economic and Social Survey 2011: The Great Green Technological Revolution.
The green technological transformation, “business as usual” is not an option
While humankind has made enormous progress in improving material welfare over the past two centuries, this progress has come at the lasting cost of degradation of our natural environment. About half of the forests that covered the earth are gone, groundwater resources are being depleted and contaminated, enormous reductions in biodiversity have already taken place and, through increased burning of fossil fuels, the stability of the planet’s climate is being threatened by global warming. In order for populations in developing countries to achieve a decent living standard, especially the billions who currently still live in conditions of abject poverty, and the additional 2 billion people who will have been added to the world’s population by mid-century—much greater economic progress will be needed.
Continuation along previously trodden economic growth pathways will further exacerbate the pressures exerted on the world’s resources and natural environment, which would approach limits where livelihoods were no longer sustainable. Business as usual is thus not an option. Yet, even if we stop global engines of growth now, the depletion and pollution of our natural environment would still continue because of existing consumption patterns and production methods. Hence, there is an urgent need to find new development pathways which would ensure environmental sustainability and reverse ecological destruction, while managing to provide, now and in the future, a decent livelihood for all of humankind.
DOTE warning to the reader — extreme sarcasm alert.
The Environmental News Service explains the deal in UN: Only Green Technology Can Avert 'Planetary Catastrophe'.
NEW YORK, New York, July 5, 2011 (ENS) - Humanity is near to breaching the sustainability of Earth, and needs a technological revolution greater and faster than the industrial revolution to avoid "a major planetary catastrophe," warns a new United Nations report.
"It is rapidly expanding energy use, mainly driven by fossil fuels, that explains why humanity is on the verge of breaching planetary sustainability boundaries through global warming, biodiversity loss, and disturbance of the nitrogen-cycle balance and other measures of the sustainability of the Earth"s ecosystem," the report says.
"A comprehensive global energy transition is urgently needed in order to avert a major planetary catastrophe," the report warns.
Might I interject? Perhaps our "rapidly expanding" use of fossil fuel energy itself can not be sustained for much longer. I suggest somebody take a long look at the situation. Certainly, crude oil does not seem quite so abundant as it once appeared to be. Perhaps somebody at the U.N. ought to look at the oil price trend since 2003. And then there's that pending, unresolved peak coal estimate. Country estimates of how much recoverable coal they have always seem to go down. And there's all that nonsense about shale gas. But I digress.
In his preface to the report, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes that "rather than viewing growth and sustainability as competing goals on a collision course, we must see them as complementary and mutually supportive imperatives. This becomes possible when we embrace a low-carbon, resource-efficient, pro-poor economic model."
Growth and sustainability are not competing goals! All we need is a low-carbon, resource-efficient, pro-poor ... growth model. Young people, especially you students, should take note. It's not what you might have heard, young grasshopper. No, these seemingly contradictory goals are complementary and mutually supportive. 2 + 2 really does equal 5, despite rumors to the contrary. Let's repeat this quote from the report's opening text.
In order for populations in developing countries to achieve a decent living standard, especially the billions who currently still live in conditions of abject poverty, and the additional 2 billion people who will have been added to the world's population by mid-century—much greater economic progress will be needed.
At the risk of being labeled a nitpicker, may I make another suggestion? How about if we scale back the Earth's human population? And thus not add those additional 2 billion humans to a planet already overrun by them? I mean, c'mon! Give me a break! You can't go outside without bumping into a whole bunch of humans. Everywhere you go, there they are. They pullulate like rabbits! If we reduced the population, we wouldn't need all that economic progress to support the ones we have and 2 billion more of them.
Yes, I know, I know—this is to be a great, green Technological Revolution. Is there any other kind? It will not be a great, pink Behavioral Revolution in which humans no longer procreate like there's no tomorrow, and then rape the Earth to support themselves. Allow me to quote from my recent post Learning From The Aquacalypse. I was discussing Human Nature in the context of our destruction of the oceans—
- Human behavior doesn't change over time, despite many superficial differences between the current era and those that came before. Homo sapiens is a species, what you see is what you get. In short, don't expect any fundamental behavioral changes in human exploitation of the oceans.
- Humans are extremely good at technology, but have little or no insight into the causes and consequences of their own behavior. Thus all solutions presented to fix problems attending our compulsion to grow and grow without limit are technological in nature—or geographical, in which we exploit virgin territory to get the resources we need. See Star Trek. Behavioral changes are out of the question.
- The compulsion of our species to grow and grow without limit is biological in nature. If this isn't obvious, I don't know what is...
And so on. In any case, the U.N. warned that a major planetary catastrophe is coming, and no one noticed. They say we need a a technological revolution greater and faster than the industrial revolution to avoid it. They say we need to spend at least $1.9 trillion per year over the next 40 years. And as you should already know by now, technology solves all problems. There's nothing to see here, folks, move on, move on...
Bonus Video — Phil Collins, Another Day In Paradise, an amazing version you've never heard.
Humans are very good at finding excuses to kill each other too.
Posted by: DoneGoneGalt | 07/11/2011 at 11:16 AM