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Watching and reading and listening to our dysfunctional media system one would be forgiven for thinking that the most important problem we are facing at the moment is the Euro Crisis. It's not. In fact we are currently hovering around crucial tipping points in our climate that will have far reaching consequences for life on this planet and besides which the Euro Crisis pales into insignificance.
In our Introduction to Justice article on this site we mentioned that one of the Delusional Assumptions of the 'Second Beast' of mass media was that 'Money is the most important value'. The sidelining of the issue of Climate Warming is a horrific example of this. The video below from PBS in America, a non-corporate broadcasting organisation, illustrates very well the type of crucial information on Climate Change that is being censored by mainstream media here in Ireland and elsewhere.
Watch Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization on PBS. See more from Journey to Planet Earth.
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James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been highlighting the issue of climate change since the 1980s and in his latest paper he warns that if current warming trends continue then this will lead to "the possibility of multi-meter sea-level rise this century." The reason for this is the rate at which ice sheets are being lost at the north and south pole. The loss, says Hansen, is not happening in a linear fashion. Current estimates suggest that ice sheet loss will double every 10 years. To combat this there is only one solution he says: "Rapid reduction of fossil fuel emissions is required for humanity to succeed in preserving a planet resembling the one on which civilization developed".
What would the implications be for Dublin of a multi-meter rise in sea-level? A Google Maps application is available which gives an idea of what areas of the city would be affected by various rises of sea level. For example for Dublin after a 7m rise in sea level click here. It's clear that all reclaimed areas of the docklands and Ringsend would be returned to the sea as well as Fairview, North Strand and Sandymount. Howth would become an island in Dublin Bay. The effects would be catastophic. And Dublin is just one city. When you mulitiply the effects of all major coastal cities it's evident Climate Change is an issue which deserves much greater attention than it currently receives.
For the full version of Jim Hansen's paper click here.{jcomments on}
