“We must do the right thing, and not worry about whether or not we will be successful. For if we do not do the right thing, we will be part of the problem, not part of the solution”. Schumacher
C02 in the atmosphere this month has reached the 400 parts per million level. This means the atmosphere has more C02 in it since the dawn of humanity. If we look at C02, as many scientists do, as the proverbial canary in the mine, then it is about to fall off it’s perch.
As C02 rises, so does the sea, so does precipitation in already wet climates and so does the heat in already hot lands. Food production is threatened alongside a rising tide of hungry mouths. Demand could soon outstrip supply and this is not a pretty thought.
The World Bank is now telling us that without urgent and radical cuts in emissions, global temperatures will rise by 4C or more by the end of the century, resulting in “devastating” environmental impacts for all of us. The case for political action becomes clearer by the day.
Tinkering with the deficit will not help. Neither will bedroom tax, immigration debates or baying into the wind for economic growth. Growth of the type we used to have is not the solution. The government know this, but do not act. Fatigued by their own rhetoric, they are the problem.
Those who believe that technology will solve our problems had better start investing in it fast. Without sizable investment in the technologies of the future, how can technology possibly come to the rescue.
We need the doors of finance opened to innovation, and now is not soon enough. This tired old world needs new ideas. For example, digging up the ground for fuel seems almost Neanderthal when above us shines an almost infinite supply of clean energy. It is ironic then, that the more fossil fuels we burn, the less the sun seems to shine, and the less the sun shines the more fossil fuels we burn. We are being forced by bad government policy and multinational corporations to pick up a shovel and dig our own graves. The future is being ConDem-ed.
We need to plough money – not into banks – but directly into research and development, innovation and universities, to solve the problems of our time.
We need a dynamic economy to surge ahead and overtake the old. We need to let the old economic order die. We need to apply green economic thinking and seek out the benefits of a steady state where constant innovation continually moves us forward to the goals we seek. Goals such as enough food for all, enough energy for all, democratic energy and full employment.
The pressing needs of today are climate change, energy and food. To have these needs equally distributed requires new thinking – Green thinking.
It is not enough to carry on the way we are and hoping something will turn up. It won’t. 400 ppm of C02 in the atmosphere is too much, and nothing can be heard from government on the subject but a resounding silence. This government is presiding over the biggest mistake humanity has ever made. It is condemning the future.
Shortermism and bankers bonuses will do little more than make rich people even richer. Every thinking citizen knows there is a better way forward. It has never been said that Greens are part of the problem. We are a huge part of the solution and we are ready to apply it.