It’s not the first time that thousands of academics united to urge people to take action on climate change. Personally, I agree with the scientists. I don’t think that at present we are talking about climate change but about a climate crisis an emergency that is endangering every one of us — even you who are reading this article.
Our first warning on climate change
Our first warning came in 1992, were 1,700 independent scientists joined together and signed the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity. A warning letter to all of humanity, calling us out for our indiscriminate use and abuse of the natural world. The scientists opened the letter as follows:
“Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the planet and animal kingdoms, and may alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know.”
Source – World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity
Fundamental change is needed
In that letter, they urged us that we need to look at how we are treating our environment and that a fundamental change is needed in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it if we are to avoid our own self-destruction.
“A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irreversibly mutilated.”
Source – World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity
But it seems that such a dire warning fell on closed ears as our indiscriminate use and abuse of our planet and its resources by us all continued.
Our second warning on climate change
Our first warning was not enough and in 2017 More than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries published a second letter. They warned us again that our actions as humans are setting us on a direct collision course with the natural environment with dire consequences. In that letter they warned us that:
“Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out.”
Source – World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice
Our third warning on climate change
Our latest warning came yesterday on 6th November 2019 were More than 11,000 scientists from around the world again issued a grim warning. They are telling us of the “great suffering” that is coming our way because of climate if all of humanity doesn’t change its ways. The scientists said they feel they have;
“A moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat and to tell it like it is.”
Source – World scientists warning of a climate emergency
Climate crisis an emergency
This latest report was published in BioScience were the scientists are warning that the climate crisis an emergency is closely linked to the excessive consumption of the wealthy lifestyle.” The scientists argued and criticised policymakers for failing to take any concrete action.
“Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations, with few exceptions, we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this predicament.”
Source – World scientists warning of a climate emergency
This Echo’s the words of the climate activist Greta Thunberg see the video.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg address to world leaders at the 2019 UN climate action summit in New York
Six critical issues that need to be addressed
The scientists listed six key critical issues that need to be addressed if we as humans want to prevent catastrophic scenarios leading to the possible extinction of humanity.
These include replacing fossil fuels, eating less meat, curtailing the emissions of climate pollutants such as methane and soot, building a carbon-free economy, restoring and protecting ecosystems, and investing into family-planning services and girls education to try to stabilise population growth.
In an interview with CNN Phoebe Barnard, one of the lead authors of the report and the chief science and policy officer at the Conservation Biology Institute, a nonprofit science group said that “the changes shouldn’t be seen as sacrifices, but as a way of transforming things that we have found stressful. Everything from road rage and congestion and dirty air.”
Time to wake up
The question remains, are we going to listen to our third warning? What are we going to do? Or are we again just going to shut our ears, turn a blind eye and put our heads in the sand like an ostrich and do nothing. I ask you? Humanity needs to wake up it is time to change our ways Are we going to remain passive and idyllic to a path of our own self-destruction and the extinction of yes it’s time to wake up because we are no longer talking about climate change by the climate crisis and emergency humanitarian crisis and the degradation and destruction of every one of us of our humility and the human race references the human race. All of which will be our own doing and we will only have ourselves to blame for it.
We are on a path of self-destruction and we are asleep to it. It’s time to wake up. We need to wake up. Humanity needs to wake up; it is time to change our ways.
Yes, it’s time to wake up because we are no longer talking about climate change but a Climate Crisis an Emergency, a humanitarian crisis and the degradation and destruction of every one of us, of our humanity and the human race.
References
Ripple, W. J., Wolf, C., Newsome, T. M., Barnard, P., Moomaw, W. R., & 11,258 scientist signatories from 153 countries. (2019). World scientists warning of a climate emergency. BioScience, biz088. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz088
Ripple, W. J., Wolf, C., Newsome, T. M., Galetti, M., Alamgir, M., Crist, E., . . . & 15,364 scientist signatories from 184 countries . (2017). World scientists’ warning to humanity: A second notice. BioScience, 67(12), 1026-1028. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix125
Tobin, E., & Kottasova, I. (2019, November 6). 11,000 scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’ caused by climate change. Retrieved from CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/05/world/climate-emergency-scientists-warning-intl-trnd/index.html