Humanity Faces Crisis: A Quick Analysis
Scientists tell us that the threat of climate change (not to mention the other issues associated with the depletion of natural resources in the face of population growth) is the most important event facing mankind in the entire history of humanity. That’s quite a thought, when you reflect on it. After 10,000 years of our living in organized society, we’ve come to the point at which our ability to limit the damage we’re doing to our environment over the next few decades will mean the difference between our success and failure as a species.
Given the urgency, can anyone believe we’re responding effectively to the challenge? Let’s take a moment and look at the balance of positive and negative forces at work here. Let’s begin with the forces whose effect is positive (slowing population growth, limiting consumption of non-renewable resources, migrating to renewable resources), of which there seem to be two distinct kinds:
1) A minute percentage of people who make huge personal sacrifices and work tirelessly and selflessly on behalf of humanity. These include both household names like Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as many millions of other people, working in relative (or complete) obscurity, doing their best according to their lights. Of course, this is not an all-or-nothing proposition, and thus in this class we need to place all the scientists, writers, honest political leaders, honest business people, teachers, social activists, men of God, etc., who have shown the bravery to stand up for unpopular or unprofitable beliefs in the face of criticism — and even ridicule — in order to promote what they believe in their hearts to be right.
2) The positive effects caused by individuals and business entities working on a profit-motive, whose products happen, accidentally, to help. Here I include the divisions of the Global 500, e.g., G.E. and Siemens, that are focused on owning the world as it goes green. While we don’t ascribe a moral goodness to this, we acknowledge the fact that its effects are positive nonetheless.
Now, let’s think about the forces whose effects are negative (promoting consumption of non-renewable resources, diminishing the health and well-being of the world population, etc.) Here, famously, we have the fossil fuel industries, intent as they are, despite the contentions they make so convincingly in their PR campaigns, on extracting and selling the last drop of crude or lump of coal from the ground, at the expense of the health and safety of all living things now and in the future.
Obviously the list doesn’t end there. Why not mention the fast-food industry, aggressively destroying the forests to make room for beef cattle — groups whose ultimate effects are child obesity and malnutrition? Why not talk about the psychiatric drug industry and what it’s done to put 8 million American school children on Ritalin?
It’s quite the battle. I guess we can all root for the good guys, while hoping that more people in the middle, who compose the huge majority of the world’s population, figure out that this really IS the time when we either turn this around — or we don’t.
There are many things which we are doing wrong. I don’t believe that our survival as a species is at risk, but I do believe that unless some changes are quickly made, we may experience something far worse than the plagues which swept Europe in the middle ages and that our civilization may be at risk.
Among other things, we need to implement energy systems which can be proven to do the job reliably and at a price that is politically acceptable.
The best solution to fight against the CLIMATE CHANGE from scientist.
Some thinking of scientist to turn the economy without spinning the economy and reverse the climate change is to develop the expertise to removed the hydrogen from the Hydrocarbon [HYDROGEN ] can be used it to feed fuel cells to run our vehicles [ ZERO POLLUTION ] and the Carbon can be turned into CARBON FIBBER. Carbon fibber is stronger than steel. You can make physical things with it like cars, plane , plane parts ,buildings, beams, plates, rope, houses, fabric, shirts, bullet proof vests. It can also be thermally conductive or thermally insulating so it can be the insulation in your house and it can be the frying pan on your stove. It can be electrically conductive or it can be an electrical insulation. So it can replace copper wire AND in another formulation it can be the insulation around the copper wire. Carbon can and will build the world. So when you take the Hydrogen out of the oil and use it for fuel ( that is a service ) you also take the carbon out of the oil and you make things ( you create wealth ). That is what it means by Hydrogen being the key to a Wealth Expanding Economy.
In the medical field one of the useful application .
Carbon Nanotubes versus HIV
Nanotubes can transport RNA into the human immune system’s white blood cells, making the cells less vulnerable to attack by the HIV virus.
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In fact the idea that hydrocarbons can be made into a clean, renewable fuel source is well knowned in the fuel cells scientists.. The process necessary to manufacture hydrocarbons from water and carbon is already well know and the base of the “coal to liquid fuel” plans which are gaining popularity right now.
The infrastructure to store, transport and distribute hydrocarbon fuels is already in place. The only thing The only thing lacking is a way to STRIPTHE HYDROGEN OFF THE CARBON ATOMS AT THE POINT OF USE WHITHOUT TURNING THE CARBON INTO CO2 in the process.
I believe that fuel cells can be developed which will accomplish this goal. Then the carbon is collected and shipped back to the gasoline manufacturing facility to be turned back into gasoline or diesel. Right now Sasol is producing 0% of the hydrocarbon fuels used in South Africa by this method.
Additionally, another device which is technologically possible is the on-board steam reformer for IC engine vehicles. Prototypes have been built and tested. Your catalytic converter is already one type of reformer (as an example). Use on board reformers would cut the world’s demand for hydrocarbons dramatically. The estimated fuel savings is from 30 – 50% because the hydrogen that is actually fuelling the vehicle comes partly from the hydrocarbon and partly from the water.
Best regards.
Louis
Craig,
Profit is a huge motivator for what ails global sustainability Just ask T. Boone Pickens.
Pickens recently laid the blame for lack of a National Energy Policy at the feet of Koch Industries. See http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/t-boone-pickens-biggest-deterrent-u-energy-plan-125553999.html for the article.
Koch uses natural gas to make fertilizer and chemicals and wants to keep fossil fuel prices low. Pickens wants gas to increase in price since he is heavily invested in it.
Pickens reasons that a National Energy Policy will increase domestic demand for gas by replacing oil imports. Gas prices rise, and Pickens wins big, but so does the US. The otherwise exported Petro dollars will instead stay in the national economy to the benefit of all in the US. If gas prices rise rapidly enough, say through increased taxation or future price speculation, then people will conserve more. Its a win for the economy, a win for the treasury and a win for each of us.
You say root for the “good guys.” As Pickens demonstrates, its hard to decide who are the good guys. What you find are “guys” seeking their economic self-interest. Policy is never so black and white and instead the debate over climate change, obesity, energy and water use or any other sustainable issue really is ethically value-neutral.
Use your examples of profit motivated economic positives to mitigate the obstacles to climate change and other environmental and social ills. National policy is a bunch of carrots and sticks to support what we want to encourage and discourage — simple economic engineering. Obama’s all of the above energy strategy is a case in point.
Yet, each of us has the choice to do, something or not, to achieve a sustainable future, thus determining economic value. So why not use economic self interest as our guide in formulating national policy? To me, it has the better chance of focusing our national priorities while best achieving one’s personal values.
Enjoy,
Barry_____
Our species must return to the practice of enforcing the paradigm at our communal roots: sharing labor and resources equitably and cooperating for mutual benefit and parity – as opposed to clawing against each other in a dead-end system that rewards the most predatory and cannibalistic among us, and exploits those of us who are more compassionate, munificent and honorable.
If we continue to allow mere self-interest to steer us – without first exponentially ENLIGHTENING that self-interest far beyond its current scope and vision – the needed changes will not come in time to prevent global catastrophe. We (WE – and not our grandchildren) will suffer a cataclysm beside which the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Black Plague and both world wars all combined will all appear quite tame.
The moneyed movers and shakers are waiting until what THEY WILL BELIEVE is the very last moment before they decide to support these changes – and a great many such folks will continue to deny, even to themselves, that there are any problems whatever associated with no change happening at all. At that late date, the opportunity will have faded.
We must use the last of the remaining cheap ancient sunlight to get us off of our current dead-end path and onto a closed loop infrastructure that uses the modern sun as the energy feed. The solution to this transition is elegantly simple, and within our grasp. The barriers are neither technological nor resource based, nor are they fiscal – we have the know-how, the material and the money.
The only things standing between us and a sustainable modern existence are those abysmally entrenched and lethally tyrannical interests that depend for their opulence on the status quo. Their most potent weapons are ignorance, bribery and violence.
Our most potent weapons are Truth, Nonviolence, Cooperation, Direct Action and Perseverance.
Carry on!
Civilisation & Humanity is in crisis, besides addressing climate change, food and water securities and the imminent national security issues of many nations by the end of this decade. Our earths biodiversity is also at a crisis stage as bad as global warming.
Let us all strenuously work together to get people and governments seriously committed to ‘scale’ action programs. Let us commit to not giving up this mission. But I know, this is very hard. Nevertheless, we need to keep at it.