Over the last few years, since climate change started to be seen as a threat, and linked to human activity (largely the burning of fossil fuels and the cutting down of the rainforests), there has been a very strident lobby opposing those views. Bill McKibben wasn’t the first person to identify these entities, but he certainly has been around a long time, having written his first book called “The End of Nature” in 1989 and other books since.
Alexandra and I saw him in Auckland recently, and it was a very inspiring night due to his humility in his powerful message. I contrast that to the strident rebuttal from the fossil fuel industry and energy sector and so on. There was quite a famous incident that related to Britain that became known as ‘Climategate’ that discredited the findings of some quite eminent scientists in Britain that related to climate change being human-drive. Basically what has come out since is that particular whole episode was financed by fossil fuel and energy companies.
Now, I have no vested interest in any point of view. No one is paying me to write this nor to state a certain opinion, but I am fed by concern for my children, grandchildren and recent great grandchildren, not to mention every child I have very cared about or could care about. For this article to state that carbon dioxide is not the problem, due to the fact that plants thrive on it, was incredibly irresponsible, and when the author referenced a device that utilized fossil fuels to generate carbon dioxide into greenhouses to help plants grow, the seriousness of the article was blown right away for me. What’s the point in having a device to blow CO2 into the greenhouses when it’s using fossil fuels to do so? This is one of the problems we face – trying to manipulate nature to do more than it can. The net result is that we take whatever resources that are available to the living organism and we use it up quicker. We’re seeing this in commercial agriculture.
I was sort of amazed at the piece, but really, I have felt disquieted by that website for some time due to the fact that it is so completely covered in marketing and advertising, encouraging people to consume something. The bottom line is that we need to consume less, and we need to stop looking for avenues to make money for whatever our opinions might be – that’s a big problem in my (unpaid) opinion. Just think about what the motivation is behind the information you are receiving and use your best judgment. To end this piece I would like to use Bill McKibben as an example. To me he seems like a man motivated by the goodness of the future and the Earth, and we need to be more like him in our own motivations. Thank you.