Five years until humanity’s mad carbon-burning carnival brings about “irreversible” change. That’s the conclusion of the International Energy Agency. Despite all the lip service about working toward a “green” world, carbon-dioxide emissions in 2010 grew by an ‘almost unprecedented’ 5.3% according to the IEA. The news should have been a page 1 story everywhere. The Wall Street Journal ran it under a feature story about dogs being raised for food.
We have five years to take measure that would stop the rise in global temperature at 2 degrees. If that’s not met temperatures will make the world a lot hotter. The result will not “merely” be a rise in seal levels and flooding of coastal cities, but more of the crazy weather extremes we’ve been seeing like massive flooding in Pakistan, terrible heat in Moscow and Texas and “once in a hundred year storms” in New Orleans and New England.
The IAE says we need “drastic” changes to energy and industrial policy, but virtually nothing is being done. The capitalist mantra is growth at whatever cost. “A rising tide raises all ships” is the usual way they put it. Any problems with universal high tides are ignored or denied.
More than ever we need world planning, but the capitalist casino has been temporarily restored to profitability with its love for chaos (“opportunity”). The 1% thinks that whatever comes they can live high and dry, but what of the rest of us?
The IEA is an independent organization of 28 countries including the USA.