“I believe that the biggest danger is not our inaction. The real danger is when companies and politicians are making it look like real action is happening when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR.”What do these new heat records show if not that the climate is changing? Further, why has the mainstream media failed to meaningfully connect the dots between heatwaves, climate change, and the need for climate action? We must draw the inference, as Noam Chomsky and critics of the media system have for many years, that sounding the alarm on climate change might force people to ask if it has something to do with the institutional structure of society. Such questions could never be considered within a media system that depends on advertising revenues of capitalist entities. The devastating heat waves are just one example. The New York Times published an article without any allusion to the critical role of climate change in extreme weather events on July 21. Somewhat humorously, climate scientist Michael Mann, author of “The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy”, offered this correction to the New York Times article:
Last year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 °C this century, emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut by 45% by 2030. But to make that happen, many observers including Prince Charles are saying the next 18 months will be the crucial period where people and governments will need to take action ahead of the 2020 climate summit in London. Prince Charles, speaking at a reception for Commonwealth foreign ministers, stated the following as reported in a July 24 BBC article:Hey @NYTimes, I fixed the headline for you. You're welcome.— Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) July 21, 2019
"What Climate Change Looks Like"https://t.co/bdfc9Q1GiV
"I am firmly of the view that the next 18 months will decide our ability to keep climate change to survivable levels and to restore nature to the equilibrium we need for our survival.”
The window for taking action on climate change, before its effects become catastrophic, continues to shrink as numerous climate scientists point to positive feedback mechanisms that will amplify the warming tendency of the earth. The destructive effect of increasing global temperatures on ocean algae and tropical forests (on top of deforestation) will, it is feared, reduce the capacity of the oceans and forests to absorb carbon dioxide, raising the global temperature still further.
The agency managing the Great Barrier Reef said in a study released on July 19 an urgent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was needed to protect the reef. A UN-listed World Heritage Site home to an amazing biodiversity, the 2,300 km reef has suffered coral bleaching in large areas in response to environmental stress of warmer temperatures. Thirty percent of the coral perished in 2016, another 20 percent in 2017. During this time, Australia has increased its rate of greenhouse gas emissions. The recently elected government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison backs the country’s coal industry.
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil continues to trend upward, as reported on July 28 in Science Magazine. The most recent satellite monitoring data produced by Brazil’s Real-Time Deforestation Detection System suggest more than 4200 square kilometers of forest were chopped out of the Amazon between January 1, when the country’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro took office, and July 24. The figures represent 50% more deforestation occuring than in the first 7 months of 2018 and more than double the area cleared in the same period in 2017. Yet Bolsonaro has called the data “a lie” despite many prominent scientists defending the methodology used to calculate rates of deforestation. Environmentalists blame the increase in land clearing on Bolsonaro’s aggressive pro development statements and policies, including the promotion of farming and mining on protected land.
One further consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2 is anticipated to be a reduction in the availability of nutrients worldwide. Higher levels of CO2 are expected to reduce the presence of key micronutrients in crops according to research done by the International Food Policy Research Institute and published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal on July 18. Using data sets on effects of CO2 on nutrient content in crops, researchers created a model to project per capita availability of protein, iron, and zinc out to 2050. The study found that wheat, rice, maize, barley, potatoes, soybeans, and vegetables are all projected to suffer nutrient losses of about 3% on average by 2050 due to elevated CO2 concentration. Regions where people already experience nutrient deficiencies, many of them considered part of the Global South, will be more vulnerable to the effects of these declines. For instance, India has the highest prevalence of anemia in the world, which can result from iron deficiency. Wheat is a large component of the staple diet in South Asia and researchers anticipate that globally the crop could lose 12% of its protein, iron, and zinc content, which would pose a health concern to populations that already have relatively low nutrient intake. Extending the analysis past 2050, when the effects of climate change are expected to be more severe, may result in even greater reductions of nutrient availability in the food we eat. The results of this study show there are dangers associated with climate change that have not been sufficiently appreciated thus far and those effects will not be felt evenly.
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While our environmental news for this month has tended to focus on the continuing degradation, we must acknowledge that various people and groups are taking concrete actions to fight for an ecosocialist society. I’d like to briefly address two of those actions I observed over the past month. The first is that Berkeley, California became the first U.S. city to ban natural gas in new homes. I was pleased to read that residents and environmental groups had successfully achieved this policy. It will certainly have a big impact on emissions in the city, which adopted a plan to reduce emissions 33% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. The plan also commits the city to using 100% renewable electricity by 2035. Energy consumption by buildings is a huge issue, but it is not bigger than the environmental impact of our fossil fuel transportation system. Free and widely accessible public transportation will allow countries to massively cut their emissions. But investments into public transit remain elusive as the culture of personal mobility is still dominant. An ecosocialist principle is not to change people’s levels of consumption per-se but to change the most common modes of consumption -- from cars and airplanes to buses and trains, from meat and animal agriculture to veganism.
Another sign of hope I observed this month was the Zero Waste Act introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on July 25 by Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. It provides funds that will go towards reducing landfills and incinerators, especially in low income communities or communities of color. It will create a federal grant program to help local cities to invest in zero waste initiatives. These funds can go towards recycling infrastructure, or towards the creation of partnerships with local businesses aimed at reducing waste in their operations. “We can imagine a future where we prioritize people’s health, the environment, and justice, knowing our fates are tied together,” said Omar. “Today, we need elected leaders to champion solutions that match the scope of the challenges we face. Addressing the waste crisis is critical to preventing further damage to our climate—it’s integral to racial justice and a clean, equitable future.” Ultimately I think a better solution to combat waste would involve worker-owned cooperatives. Absent the need to constantly expand production, there would be a greater focus on cutting waste from manufacturing processes and ecologically conscious workers would seek to fulfill people’s needs while respecting the environment. But I believe that Omar’s goal of providing funding for dealing with the waste we produce is a necessary step at reducing emissions especially from waste incinerators.
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Environmental writer Bill McKibben, in a 2005 article titled “The Debate is Over” published in Rolling Stone, wrote that humanity is entering the “Oh Shit” era of climate change. First there was the “I wonder what will happen era” followed by the “Can this really be true?” era. Now, faced with recent evidence that it is too late for humans to avoid climate change entirely, we are in the “Oh Shit” era, where we must recognize that our actions will be focused on limiting the scope and intensity of climate change. As seen in the news this month, ecologists who once warned of the possibility of future apocalypse now insist that global disaster is right in front of us. We can not merely seek to fight against one pipeline, but must transition away from the fossil fuel economy entirely. In all we do as workers and global citizens, we must seek broad and sweeping changes that lead us to an ecosocialist society. Only a revolutionary social solution that addresses the environmental issues discussed above on a planetary scale and their relation to global structures of imperialism and inequality offers any hope that these apparently irreparable calamities can be transcended. What the world needs is socialism: the rational organization of human’s interaction with nature by freely associated producers. Capitalism is the fundamental curse to be exorcised.
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Sources
Carrington, Damian. “UK Set to Host Critical UN Climate Crisis Summit at End of 2020.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 June 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/18/britain-host-critical-un-climate-crisis-summit-end-2020.
Crunden, E.A. “House Democrats Announce Plan to Achieve Net-Zero Emissions by Mid-Century.” ThinkProgress, thinkprogress.org/2050-net-zero-democrats-emissions-green-new-deal-announcement-trump-c1431ed2849a/.
Democracy Now! “Greta Thunberg Urges French Lawmakers to Act on Climate Crisis as Heat Wave Grips Europe.” Democracy Now!, 24 July 2019, www.democracynow.org/2019/7/24/headlines/greta_thunberg_urges_french_lawmakers_to_act_on_climate_crisis_as_heat_wave_grips_europe.
Democracy Now! “June 2019 Was Hottest on Record.” Democracy Now!, 3 July 2019, www.democracynow.org/2019/7/3/headlines/june_2019_was_hottest_on_record.
EscobarJul, Herton, et al. “Deforestation in the Amazon Is Shooting up, but Brazil's President Calls the Data 'a Lie'.” Science, 29 July 2019, www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/deforestation-amazon-shooting-brazil-s-president-calls-data-lie.
Freedman, Andrew. “Europe Heat: Temperature Records Are Shattered in Europe, with Paris Hitting All-Time Mark of 109 Degrees.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 July 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/07/25/record-temperatures-europe/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5b085b500acc.
Foster, John Bellamy. The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet. Monthly Review, 2009. p. 44-45, 109.
“Great Barrier Reef Agency Breaks Government Ties to Warn of Climate Warning.” SBS News, 19 July 2019, www.sbs.com.au/news/great-barrier-reef-agency-breaks-government-ties-to-warn-of-climate-warning.
International Food Policy Research Institute. "Rising CO2, climate change projected to reduce availability of nutrients worldwide: Protein, iron, zinc to be 19.5%, 14.4%, and 14.6% lower, respectively, than without climate change." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 July 2019, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190718085308.htm.
James, Lauren E. “Half of the Great Barrier Reef Is Dead.” National Geographic, 7 Aug. 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/explore-atlas-great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-map-climate-change/.
McGrath, Matt. “Climate Change: 12 Years to Save the Planet? Make That 18 Months.” BBC News, BBC, 23 July 2019, www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-48964736.
McGrath, Matt. “What Does 1.5C Mean in a Warming World?” BBC News, BBC, 2 Oct. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45678338.
Ravani, Sarah. “Berkeley Becomes First U.S. City to Ban Natural Gas in New Homes.” SFChronicle.com, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 July 2019, www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-becomes-first-U-S-city-to-ban-natural-14102242.php.
“Rep. Ilhan Omar Introduces the Zero Waste Act.” Representative Ilhan Omar, 27 July 2019, omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-ilhan-omar-introduced-zero-waste-act.