We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, October 23, 2015

Welcome to a New Planet: Climate Change “Tipping Points” and the Fate of the Earth

Click here to access article by Michael T. Klare from TomDispatch. (Note: Should you wish to skip Engelhardt's introduction, you will need to scroll down to the article.)
Not so long ago, it was science fiction. Now, it’s hard science -- and that should frighten us all. The latest reports from the prestigious and sober Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) make increasingly hair-raising reading, suggesting that the planet is approaching possible moments of irreversible damage in a fashion and at a speed that had not been anticipated.

Scientists have long worried that climate change will not continue to advance in a “linear” fashion, with the planet getting a little bit hotter most years.  Instead, they fear, humanity could someday experience “non-linear” climate shifts (also known as “singularities” or “tipping points”) after which there would be sudden and irreversible change of a catastrophic nature.
The only problem is...we humans won't be around to "welcome" this new planet. The natural forces which govern our universe will disappear us humans because we have been just another species that failed to adapt by living in harmony with the natural forces. Instead we worshiped the power and wealth of a tiny group of humans called capitalists who led us off the cliffs of never-ending wars and climate destabilization. 
at
Labels: