Some big questions about the future
In writing this column, I try to step back from all the daily hurly-burly of conservation crises and to think outside of the box, see the big picture and the critical but perhaps sometimes hidden challenges, as we look strategically into the future.
So I am posing some big questions about how we can move as quickly as possible to sustainable futures in our communities, our state, the nation and the world.
What are key factors in curbing climate change for New York state, the U.S. and the world?
What about the exploding world population’s impact on the depletion and pollution of natural resources and increasing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change?
How about the concept of the “public good”? Is not greatly curbing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change a fundamental public good that Americans and our government leaders should understand and hold dear and act upon even while coming at solutions from different angles?
What about the huge disparity in wealth in this country and worldwide severely limiting access to resources to combat climate change unless there is a paradigm shift to spend in all sectors of the economy and for all income levels for energy conservation and efficiency and renewable energy? What can be done about this?
How about major campaign financing reforms at all levels of government, and protecting voters’ rights, so that all stakeholders’ interests are taken into account at the decision tables?
What about always keeping as our top priority the protection of critical natural resources, our water, air, and wilderness, our land (including farmland), our wetlands and more? Why should New York advocate continued and even expanded use of power from oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels and continued use of nuclear power? Why is it in any way in the public good to continue to exempt hydrofracking for natural gas from the U.S. Clean Air and Clean Water acts?
What about fundamental shifts in how we as humans conceive of using our natural resources to ensure sustainable futures? How can we have viable economies without assuming that constant escalating depletion of our natural resources is essential? How can we continue with massive depletion and pollution of our water resources for power production, hydrofracking and the latest in high tech equipment when we ignore essential needs for a sustainable future?
There are so many questions and concerns and absolutely no simple solutions, but we know it is critical to fight for visions, goals, actions, timetables, and outcomes at the community, state, regional, national and international levels if the world is to survive. We are way past the goal of stopping at 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. We are over 400 parts per million and the world’s top scientists say we residents of the world must start decisively now to greatly lower all greenhouse gas emissions, including methane.