This is a classic case of an envirohuman impact: humans use fossil fuels, such as petroleum, which upsets the delicate balances in nature that allow the weather patterns we are used to having and the earth then, “upset” by the changes, has more drastic weather patterns, and a general trend toward a warmer climate, worldwide.
Beside more frequent major storms, like Hurricane Ike, we can expect, the scientific communty’s consensus says, rising sea levels (leading to floods of densely populated areas worldwide), droughts and drinking water shortages in other areas, and mass extinctions of thousands of species.
So the pathway is:
1) Humans use and abuse petroleum >> 2) greenhouse gases have been released into the atmosphere in quantities that are not ideal for stable global temperatures >> 3) humans have to deal with the fallout of their use and abuse of petroleum (and other fossil fuels)
The more simplified battle is: Humans’ Petroleum Use vs. Environment vs. Humans vs. Petroleum Use
And it is exactly the third point here that we are at; humans have to deal with this fallout. The choices are simple: we can continue to do what we have done, moving very slowly (in fact, lazily) toward a more sustainable future, sometimes even regressing along the way, OR we can concentrate innovation, regulations, and public and private funds on efficiency and renewable, green sources of energy.
The choice is simple. Nuclear power is not going to get us there. Drill here, drill now is not going to get us there. At the end of the day, the “low hanging fruit,” as they say, that is, the easiest stuff we have yet to do, is to make mjajor headway in the realms of energy efficiency in our buildings and transportation, that includes retrofitting older buildings, making necessary upgrades, as well as higher standards for new construction, and moving over to a clean fuel transportation force, probably based on electricity produced from wind, solar, and hydro sources.
Both major U.S. Presidential nominees should take note here. A President who won’t make the difficult decisions to make the tough budget decisions to make this happen lacks the will, the foresight, the courage, to do what is needed. We need to disrupt the toxic imbalance so that we are on the same side as the environment, not using and abusing petroleum, harming the environment.
For more reading, check out:
- Removing the Fossil Fuel Blinders
- False Debate of Offshore Oil Drilling
- $4.00 per Gallon Gas: The Environment, Economy, and You
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