Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth

In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to take a time out to talk about climate change. This is not a post designed to teach you about the facts of climate change, so whether or not you think climate change is real, it would be appreciated if you read this post through to the end. It’s just some food for thought, regardless of your stance on the issue.

Full disclosure, I have read many reports and looked over a lot of data related to climate change and its effects. Based on my analysis of that data, I understand that climate change exists and that the human race is to blame for its acceleration. I am a trained ecologist and probably have an easier time reading and evaluating the scientific data that shows this than the average person, but there are countless sources that can explain them in easier terms for those that are interested, some of which I will list at the end of this post. I will also link sources that back up my explanations at the bottom of the page. I just thought everyone should know where I stand on this issue so we can move on.

My question is this: What is the worst thing that can happen as a result of choosing to act to mitigate or ignore climate change? I will attempt to answer this below. It really comes down to two essential questions. First, assuming climate change is real, what is the worst case scenario if we totally ignore it and do nothing? And second, assuming climate change is not real, what is the worst case scenario if we do everything in our power to mitigate future damage? We’ll explore both possibilities.

So, what is the worst case scenario if climate change is real and we do nothing?

To be clear, doing nothing means continuing to dump tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and producing crops and meat in exceptionally unsustainable ways (read this book if you want to know more about food production). If we ignore climate change and do nothing, the general consensus according to scientific modeling is very bleak. Sea levels will rise 33 feet from current levels, which could put half of the population of the United States underwater since we as a species like living near the coast so much. Aside from general warming which coined the phrase “global warming”, there will also be more violent weather extremes in shorter periods of time. There will be long droughts followed by huge storms that would cause flash floods. Incidences of weather disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, heatwaves, and blizzards would all be likely to increase because the severe shifts in weather create the perfect environment for these natural disasters to occur. Between the rise in sea level and the likelihood of extreme weather events, the costs of insuring vehicles, homes, property, and possibly even your own health will likely skyrocket as the risks continue to increase. Aside from the cost to us as individuals, we will lose historic cities like Charleston, SC and vacation favorites like Miami, FL to sea level rise. And most importantly, the increase in severe weather events will likely result in increases in the human fatalities we see when severe weather events happen. The cost of ignoring climate change is potentially very high in my eyes and according to scientific data.

Alternatively, what is the worst case scenario if climate change is not real, yet we do everything in our power to mitigate it?

This means switching to renewable energy, researching ways to burn less or no fossil fuels while driving, altering our food production system to decrease waste, loss of soil to erosion, loss of arable land to desertification, and water pollution, and increasing plant biomass on the planet (aka more parks, more trees, more bee gardens!). We improve the quality of our air, water, and environment, and by extension, our own quality of life. We continue to improve infrastructure for renewable energy, making it more affordable in the process and creating jobs. We lose coal and other fossil fuel jobs over time, which is happening regardless as renewables continue to get cheaper and people request them more.

Let me be clear, the loss of jobs is not something I take lightly. The plight of families who need to pay their bills and eat is not lost on me. But coal jobs are falling by the wayside because natural gas prices continue to fall, and renewable energy is cheaper and healthier in the long term and people value that. Rather than fight the inevitable and try to save a dying industry that leaves workers debilitated with diseases like black lung and entire towns with increased rates of cancer and disease (yes I’m serious), why not work to train former miners to work in renewable fields that continue to grow? As coal jobs decline in the US, solar continues to employ more people than ever before. Why not help struggling workers and families transition into those new fields? The answer is that the coal industry would rather continue to pollute our water and air so they can make money. The plight of these workers is exploited to help keep their business up and running, which is frankly disgusting. Monsanto, Cargill, and other large companies that benefit from the corn subsidy program in the US (to the tune of 19 billion tax dollars a year) would have you believe that the same fate would befall farmers if we tried to cut subsidies and move toward more environmentally friendly farming practices. The reality is that those companies make their money because the environmentally bankrupt practices we use currently are inefficient. Monsanto can sell you high yield seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides because without them, corn crops would do poorly as they are currently grown. And farmers have to pay high prices for these products because the price of corn is artificially depressed by subsidies paid for by our tax dollars. These farmers struggle to make ends meet as Cargill finds a way to insert corn products like high fructose corn syrup into every possible product in the grocery store. Those subsidies don’t help farmers, and they do nothing to improve the health of the American people. They only help line the pockets of big agribusinesses who have enough money to push people around in Washington DC. Large companies that are environmentally unfriendly would have you believe that moving toward environmentally friendly practices is bad for “the little guy,” when really, it’s just bad for their profit margin. In reality, demanding environmentally sound practices can not only keep us healthier and keep our planet healthier, it can help free our tax dollars from being misused by corrupt politicians and greedy businesses.

“We’re killing everything that’s alive, and anyone who tries to deny it wears a tie and gets paid to lie.”  -Joe Walsh, ‘Song For a Dying Planet’

Supporting environmentally friendly practices also means supporting research in many fields, which also creates jobs. Car companies employ thousands of people to help design cleaner burning engines, test new fuels for usability, or to “reinvent the wheel” and come up with other alternatives altogether. Solar companies are always searching for cheaper ways to produce solar cells and better ways to store that energy until it can be used. Scientists look for ways to decrease the use of pesticides and fertilizers that pollute our water, decrease erosion, and increase yields by improving farming practices. There are improvements to be made and jobs and money to go along with them, but oil companies, agricultural companies, coal companies, and others who benefit from environmentally bankrupt practices want you to believe that there is no alternative that will keep our economy going, and that simply isn’t true.

Basically, if we do everything we can to reduce the effects of climate change, even if it doesn’t turn out to be real, we have improved the lives of everyone. We have provided cleaner air and water, more green space, reduced our reliance on fossil fuels and poor food production practices, which in turn helps loosen the hold of big companies on Congress and on the American people, and we have supported job growth and research in up and coming fields to help replace jobs lost by industries that are already on their way out due to economic forces. While that may include growing pains for some, it sounds like a much better alternative than the universe in which we do nothing and end up in something that sounds like a combination of the ten plagues of Egypt and Noah’s flood.

I’ll leave you with this. We pay to insure our cars and our houses. We hope that nothing bad will ever happen, that we will never have to experience a car crash, a house fire, a flood, etc. But, just in case we do, we insure our valuable property so that our investment isn’t lost in case of disaster. If we are willing to do that on such a small scale, why on Earth (sorry, had to) wouldn’t we do the same to ensure the planet we all share doesn’t face similar disaster?

Helpful links:

NOAA’s Climate Monitoring Site

Sea Level Rise Interactive Mapping by Climate Central

US EPA Information on Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Is Coal Mining Bad For Your Health?

Don’t Blame Renewable Energy for Dying U.S. Coal Industry

Environmentally Friendly Business Is Profitable Business

Overhauling the Farm Bill: The Real Beneficiaries of Subsidies

Cargill Inc Annual Lobbying – Center For Responsive Politics

Monsanto Co Annual Lobbying – Center For Responsive Politics

Annual Agribusiness Lobbying – Center For Responsive Politics