A host of revolutions in science lead us to where we are today: a society imploding on itself. Professor Emanuel began his talk saying “[Climate] Science is driven by curiosity.” Well, this isn’t all bad but it definitely is not all good. A shift in paradigms has changed the world’s outlook on climate… The world has just hit a scary new level of CO2. 400 ppm. There is no turning back now. Heat waves smashing into the Middle East, including Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan, are sure indicators of the path our climate is taking. The instability of our global climate is only just recently starting to alarm us. And I mean recently relative to the human life standards which is only but a teeny tiny speck on the geologic time scale. How can the world have changed SO much SO quickly? Well, many say that humans are to blame and I can’t help but agree.
Governments, poverty stricken areas, national security, population growth, etc. are all variables in the climate change scenario. The web of issues circulating around all four of these categories must be combined at once in order to combat climate change.
India is a developing country. Its carbon emissions are extremely high relative to all other nations in the world. When they start to back-track, and I mean begin the process of reducing their footprint, they will have many options. Depending on what path they decide to take, it will affect how the globe combats climate change. Just this one nation has so much control over the world, and this is just to show the vast implications ALL countries can have on the world’s climate. For example, if India decides to invest more in the fossil fuel industry, there will be no turning back. No matter how “green” or “renewable” the western world becomes, India’s act in-and-of-itself will change the course of carbon emissions for good and the west won’t be able to do anything about it.
If the world puts its resources into finding ways to generate power for our sciences and technologies without burning fossil fuels only then will we be able to change the path our climate has already took. But what will it take? Will it take one massive catastrophe causing millions of deaths worldwide for people to finally get the picture? Will it take losing all of our available means we use to create energy right now? Hopefully not, but the future does not look good.
Climate change is a natural cycle the world takes following its orbits around the sun. What everyone needs to understand is that this natural cycle has been GREATLY and UNCHANGEABLY influenced by humans and our ‘innovations’ and ‘revolutions.’ It is time to start a new revolution in the climate science realm: one that is green and renewable. We must invoke curiosity on the subject so that maybe instead of using curiosity to inadvertently kill ourselves and the world, but to actually save ourselves and nature as it used to be.