02 December 2007

Global Climate Change: Glen Barry's pre-Bali Essay Calls for Equitable Emissions Cuts

Before the Bali Climate Talks begin next week, everyone should read the latest Earth Meanders essay by Dr. Glen Barry, called "Poverty Sucks, the Earth and the Soul."

Barry writes that "To avoid run-away abrupt climate change, all nations must embrace equitable, ambitious and urgent emission cuts in Bali.

"The rich are richer and the poor, poorer -- even as the Earth they share shrivels and dies. Billions live a life of misery on a dollar or two a day, as a sizeable minority enjoys creature comforts fit for kings of old, and a relative few with more wealth then entire nations live in unimagined splendor...

"Humanity is well along the path of cutting and burning ourselves to oblivion. The combined filth from centuries of burning fossil fuels and clearing native vegetation -- primitive practices that continue to this day -- is causing the climate and global ecology to not only change, but collapse...There is perhaps Bali and a few years to get policy right to reduce emissions and avoid total global ecological decline through cooperative international policy-making..."

Read the full essay

Source: Climate Ark

2 comments:

Steve said...

This is why I believe that, in the long run, good economic policy is good environmental policy (and even good foreign policy) Which is coincidentally the topic of my latest blog over at http://teameffortfilms.blogspot.com/
(sorry for the plug)

Anonymous said...

Obesity is a illness to stave off, either we are, but we don't realize that the worst symptoms are to come. Our well developed and aknowledged countries behave like restless kids, 'enfants terrible', they want their toys (aka primary resources) asap, and without any responsability nor concern for the future in general, tipical childish behaviour, we don't know the meaning of rationalization but waist and erratic choices, we want all the candy til toot ache, You may have been to harvard but neither gods can cure a disease called stupidity, as our global leaders who ignore concerning problems which could lead us on the verge of disaster (i.e. oceans warmer=no oxygen, more co2= acid ph, unsustainable catches, could easily drive all fish to extinction, compelling all the world to starvation or preclude the pleasure to eat fish everywhere, for the joy of filthy rich). Fortunately i have learned myself how to mantain a sustainable, strictly responsible lyfestile (boycott everything, save energy, recycle) something that a kid won't be even ever wondering himself. I know that wisdom and self attitude is more precious than Paris' Yacht, because maturity is something you can't buy and will be of great help to all life's odds. Gandhi..