RickInOz

The recent Copenhagen conference and the Kyoto treaty before it have been little more effective than putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. It’s been clear for decades that the prospect of climate change is not just the scaremongering of a few paranoid scientists, yet little action has resulted. It doesn’t help that countries like China and India deliberately sabotage any attempts to curb carbon emissions, with the age-old excuse that it would lead to their financial ruin.

But change can occur and successfully too if there is the political will. In the mid-80s grim warnings about the effect CFCs were having on the ozone layer were taken extremely seriously. Within only a couple of years the offending chemicals were almost completely eradicated from use. As a result, although ozone depletion is still a problem, there is evidence that the layer is on the road to recovery and should return to baseline levels by the end of this century.

In fact, we have exerted pollution control in recent history. Smog used to be a major problem in most industrial nations and contributed to a decline in respiratory health. It reached epic proportions enough to prompt many countries to enact Clean Air Acts to force the use of smokeless fuels, filtering technologies and a move towards alternative power generation (i.e: nuclear). And none of these countries slid into economic crisis, rather the alternative as governments plugged money into developing new technologies and then made profits from exporting the same.

So why now the rant? Well, today Scaredy had to be admitted at the vet clinic with heatstroke. We were in the throes of the 3rd successive day above 41 degrees and he started to pant. This is a worrying sign in cats and implies that their ability to compensate has been exceeded. Fortunately we caught him early enough and he shouldn’t suffer any long-term harm, but it has still come as enough of a worry and stress to all concerned.

Those of you shivering through the European winter may be thinking us lucky to be having such warmth, but even your aberrant weather pattern can be traced to climate change with the shifting of the Gulf Stream.

The intentional short-sightedness and belligerence of many nations internationally annoys me intensely. What is worse is that the immediate greed is utterly unnecessary. Carbon offsetting, renewable and alternative energy sources and forestation rather than deforestation could all generate huge fiscal flux around the world and potentially be the backbone of a new era of financial growth.

But instead, we have become dangerously addicted to fossil fuels and especially crude oil. Unfortunately, as is typically the case, governments will continue to follow Newton’s First Law. I hope when that change is forced, we have time to reverse the damage done in the interim period of blasé indifference. And I hope it happens very soon as I don’t want today’s scare to happen again. Ever.