Atmospheric Co2 passes 400ppm

 

Mauna Loa Observatory

Co2 monitoring at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii

Apologies to my regular readers: having strived to produce a regular fortnightly blog for over three years I’ve just gone over two months without a posting. Sorry! During my silence the world has passed the milestone of 400ppm. Andrew Simms writing in the Guardian noted how little media coverage there has been. The overwhelming consensus of scientific opinion, and the broad majority of humanity, accepts that climate change is a problem, even if there remains debate as to if this is of existential importance to our species. The few real sceptics typified by ex-chancellor Nigel Lawson seem ever more eccentrically blinkered.

The rather long 2009 Dan Miller video link below explains the possibility of ‘game over’ for humanity and makes some good points about why we fail to act, but he is poor on potential solutions. Back in 2007 I started writing a solution-focused book called ‘Global Problems: Global Solutions’. The book remains unfinished and unpublished, but out of it has grown this blog, various articles and the talks and evening classes I continue to give across Herefordshire and beyond.

Bill McKibben and 350.org people have made a video called ‘Do the Math’ urging, amongst other things, a concerted campaign of disinvestment in the fossil fuel industry. It’s good on the kinds of oppositional action we should take, but like too much of the debate on climate change not strong enough on inspirational possibilities as to what a low carbon, truly ecologically sustainable and socially just world might look like. So all the more reason for me to resume my regular blogging: I am convinced that, in theory at least, we could have a sustainable and pleasant future. However I am much less convinced that we as a species will take the necessary action in the time available. All the more reason to keep promoting a vision of a better future: we will only make the changes necessary to save ourselves if we have some sense of hope!

Andrew Simms http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/may/30/carbon-milestone-newspapers

Dan Miller http://fora.tv/2009/08/18/A_REALLY_Inconvenient_Truth_Dan_Miller

The excellent http://350.org/