Saving The Planet - A Righteous Rant!

Why is it that environmentalists (and, yes, I'm one too!) constantly exhort us to save the planet?

Let's face it, your average person doesn't really care that much about the planet. They're too busy making ends meet, holding down a job, raising their family and getting "stuff". For many in the majority world, just having enough food to eat, water to drink and a place to shelter is struggle enough. Concern for the planet is a luxury as far as many are concerned, and one that they really don't have time for. In too many parts of the world they will still be totally unaware of what we're even talking about.

Furthermore, we don't actually need to save the planet. Whatever we do, however badly we screw it all up, the planet will still be here. The planet has survived wild fluctuations of temperature. It has been bombarded by numerous comets and meteors. It will be here for billions of years after the human race has disappeared from the universe. New life will evolve to replace us, and all the other species our stupidity has destroyed, as it has so many times before.

No, folks, what we need to do is face the sad truth. We should be talking about saving people, because they're what's really important to most humans. Sure, we're taking a lot of cute, furry animals, exotic birds and beautiful plants on the slippery road to oblivion with us but, if we really want change, we have to start getting people's attention. What grabs their attention is risk to humans! When they understand their children, their homes and their wealth are in danger, their very survival at risk, maybe they will act.

The human race faces a rapid and painful reduction in it's numbers, and a huge leap backwards in technology, healthcare and civilisation in general. That's what we have to focus on, not the planet. It's selfish, it's deplorable and it's certainly not in tune with what many in the environmental movement feel themselves. But it happens to be the only way we're ever going to get people to stop trashing the life support systems that this planet provides for us.

Environmentalists can't continue trying to persuade people to make major changes to their lives just because the temperature is going to rise a few degrees, even with all that we believe that implies. We need to hit harder, because many people are actually in a mindset that a rise in temperature might actually be a good thing! Or in denial about the prospect of change at all.

Much of the coastal margin, where many of us live, and where much of our food is grown, are simply going to disappear. The crops, that we and our livestock depend on, are only productive within relatively narrow temperature bands. The water we drink will become scarcer and scarcer, as less rain falls, and the rain that does fall happens in violent storms. The deserts will advance and the glaciers retreat. The land available for food production will decrease dramatically, even as the human population continues to rise. The resources on which our economies and societies rely are being used up ever quicker, and many will run out in a pretty short space of time. Tropical diseases will spread rapidly across the globe. Wars and unrest will threaten every nation over food and water. Sounds scary? Well, so it should!

The future for our children and coming generations is exceedingly bleak, unless we all take serious action. Most of humanity loves their children, even if they are self-obsessed and selfish in almost every other way. This is the line of attack we should be taking. Don't tell them to save the planet - tell them to save the human race, tell them to save their kids.

War, famine, disease and chaos await if we don't take that action, and take it right now. But it will be our kids that really pay the price, not us, the ones who caused it, and the ones who sat back and did nothing. Things really are that bad, and don't let any snake oil selling politician or media pundit tell you otherwise.