"I used to think that the top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that with thirty years of good science we could address these problems, but I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that." - Gus Speth, founder of World Resources Institute, environmental lawyer, in 2008
Below is my recent email to Doug Mastriano who is the republican candidate for governor of my home state of Pennsylvania, who among other frighteningly ignorant behaviors- such as attending the January 6th riot- has stated that climate change is "fake science."
>It is not necessary for me to outline all the reasons that your delusional attempts to de-certify my legitimate vote following the 2020 election are a disturbing threat to democracy; your public comments indicate you lack the moral and ethical fiber to understand my arguments. What is more disturbing is that so many of your fellow Republicans support, or, at least, enable such dangerous thinking. If you and your comrades truly do not see that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin are similar personalities and that the only thing differentiating them is the American constitution and the moral strength of people willing to defend the rule of law and moral decency, then for the survival of the Republic I hope you lose the election by a landslide.<
As I watch so many people accept so many simplistic 'explanations' and 'solutions' to complex social, economic and environmental problems, I must admit that I am losing hope for the future of this planet-never mind just the United States. It is not that people disagree with my viewpoints, rather that they refuse to seek the facts and reality about what is going on, which in some cases is just a simple Google search away. Too many of them are willing to ignore truth in order to stay in power and foster their agenda. Recently, some have fought tooth and nail to overturn Roe versus Wade while having no plan for the coming births of unwanted babies nor the increased misery of women and children -most of them black- because of insufficient resources. This by people claiming to be Christian followers of Jesus Christ. Although trillions have been spent on war and weapons in the past decades, to allocate money towards health care or day care is somehow un-American'socialism' in their way of thinking. To me, treating all life- not merely embryonic human life-with compassion is a more valid definition of 'God'..and even more vital and relevant is the larger problem of resource depletion in a world that simply cannot sustain billions more people seeking the American lifestyle. Drilling for more oil and throwing more pesticides on mono culture corn fields is Not going to save us from future suffering.
So now the west is running out of water, as predicted long ago:
"In 1986, environmental journalist Marc Reisner published Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, a landmark book surveying water use in the American Southwest. Having interviewed hundreds of people about the Southwest and learned the history of the region’s water infrastructure, Reisner concluded that more water was being pulled out of the West’s waterways than could be naturally replenished. He said the Southwest was due to run short on water, soon....Nearly 25 years later, a group of researchers has put Reisner’s assertion to the test, checking to see if there is any scientific truth behind it. Armed with modern data from across the Southwest, the group, led by ecologist John Sabo from Arizona State University, found that many of Reisner’s claims were legitimate, and still hold true today.
“We asked, is it really as bad as [Reisner] said it is in the book, and are we still where we were in 1986?” explains Sabo, who assembled a group of experts to assess water, dams, fish, soil and crops across the Southwest using modern techniques. “Now we know the answer to both those questions: yes.”
Yet some states are still not implementing concrete solutions such as building desalination plants or pipelines to the east, or large scale recycling of wastewater. As they restrict the water used by the farmers growing crops in the desert- a questionable practice to begin with-people nationwide had better get used to higher prices for food... and on and on...No, I am not as hopeful for the future as I wish I could be, but I read science a lot more than many people, and I have followed the decline for years. None of this is a surprise to me, although the pervasive ignorance and denial and outright corruption of some people have been eye opening.
