Wake Up Humanity!

That's both a collective imperative as well as an action to take. As part of humanity we need to wake up ourselves, and we need to do our part to wake up the rest of humanity. Today, October 15, 2009, thousands of blogs around the world are posting about climate change as part of Blog Action Day '09. The idea is to raise awareness about climate change and its devastating impacts by having bloggers everywhere concentrate on a single issue, all at the same time. This is something that is being done on every type of blog out there, not just environmental ones, so that people of all backgrounds and interests will be exposed to this campaign.

Why is climate change so important that it deserves such widespread attention? The reality is that climate change, or global warming, threatens the lives of millions of people in the near future, and in the longer term it threatens the very survival of our civilization, if not our species. This truth is often downplayed in the media, or even by activists themselves, but time is running very short and we cannot afford to sugarcoat the situation any longer. We must stop stealing from our children and grandchildren.

The Great Law of the Iroquois states:

In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine.

If you are not yet convinced of the seriousness of climate change, or of the urgency of the situation, please read the following.

Floods and Droughts

Climate change will affect different parts of the world in different ways. Areas that are already dry will become more dry and experience more frequent, longer and more serious droughts. Many regions are already suffering from record droughts, such as Australia, Mexico, Canada, China and parts of the United States. Other regions that are normally wet will become even more wet and prone to more frequent and worse flooding. This is already happening as well, in areas such as Africa, Asia and parts of the United States.

Of course, climate change is not the only cause for increased droughts and flooding, but it is a large contributor, and combined with other effects will only make the impact that much worse.

Rising Sea Levels

Worldwide glaciers, ice sheets, and snow are melting at an accelerating rate. New measurements show that the melting is taking place at a faster pace than scientists had initially predicted. This melting also contributes both to the flooding and drought mentioned above, as some areas experience sea level rise, while others lose the runoff from glaciers or the snow on mountain peaks required for crops.

As melting continues, sea levels will rise and permanently flood many coastal areas, including many cities, where millions of people live. This will result in the mass migration of millions of people, which could result in more homelessness, starvation and disease. As people try to migrate across borders, tensions between nations may rise and even lead to wars.

To put things in context, the last time carbon dioxide levels were as high as there are today was 15 million years ago. At that time sea levels were between 75 to 120 feet higher than today. If you've seen the movie An Inconvenient Truth with the graphics showing rising sea levels, keep in mind those simulations were based on a rise of only 20 feet. If the simulation was done for 75 to 120 feet, much of the world we know would simply disappear underwater. Consider also that carbon dioxide levels are still rising and could more than double if action isn't taken.

Species Extinction

Global warming isn't just causing the temperature of the Earth to rise, it is causing it to rise at an unprecedented pace. While species might adapt or migrate in response temperature changes over thousands of years, they cannot adapt to rapid changes over relatively short time scales. A study by Nature has predicted the death of over a million plant and animal species, or as much as a third of all land-based species by mid-century. We haven't seen a mass extinction like that since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The problem isn't just on the land, though, the oceans are also under threat of mass extinction. Species are being depleted and becoming extinct for several reasons. These include overfishing, growing "dead zone" areas without oxygen and ocean acidification. 90 percent of large fish are already gone, and most fish in all the world's oceans may be completely extinct by as soon as mid-century.

Conclusion

There are many other consequences of global warming that haven't been mentioned above. Some we know about (increased violent weather, such as hurricanes), while others may be unpredictable. Scientists are also learning more and more about "tipping points" where a line is crossed and feedback loops begin to accelerate the process of climate change.

If the above hasn't scared you yet (and you should be scared), a new german study says that current emission reduction targets fall far too short, and suggests that only a greatly accelerated timetable has any chance of avoiding catastrophic effects from climate change. There is no more time to waste. Making responsible personal environmental choices is noble, but it won't even make a dent in a graph of global CO2 emissions. We must convince, or force, our governments to take real, effective action.

If you want to help, but don't know where to start, try visiting 350.org. This is an international campaign to address climate change and to reduce CO2 concentration in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, which scientists advise is the highest safe level. We are currently already over that number, at 377, but it is still possible to make changes that will bring it back down.

You can also visit Blog Action Day for more information.