Lifestyle
From Science: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” -James Hansen, NASA chief climatologist
You see, it is not that we won’t survive at our current levels of lifestyle. There is no doubt we will. But the endless chaos that will surely ensue when <em>billions</em> begin to suffer from the effects of climate change: sea levels destroying cities (don’t just think about, say, Brazil, but think, say, Venice, or Miami), whole populations starving because there is a lack of food (production of ‘biofuels’ has demolished global corn and wheat supplies to the point where there is a major shortage of staple foods around the world), and endless wars over precious resources like timber, water, and what’s left of the world’s oil.
It’s not that I feel guilty about living the way I do. In fact, I don’t. I like living in North America. Having shared a 400-sq-ft public housing apartment with a family of 8, I don’t ever want to go back to that kind of life. I don’t envy the populations in China, or India, or Africa, or South America. I fear their lifestlye. And it is because of this very fear, that I even begin to contemplate such ‘grandiose’ issues like the environment. I am afraid that if we don’t do anything now, when we still have the luxury to, then we won’t ever be able to have the kind of lifestyle we’re having now. We could be living in a golden age, and never be able to turn back again – and there ain’t no amount of money in the world that will solve it.