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| Can we sustain our lifestyles and our planet? |
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Jeremy Leggett has been described by Time Magazine as "one of the key players in putting the climate issue on the world agenda." He was an award-winning scientist, oil-industry consultant, and Greenpeace campaigner before setting up his own company, Solarcentury.
Is the metaphor of war – the carbon war – an overstatement? How can it be? After all, though we trust no actual shots will be fired, the UN is telling us that the casualties will be measured in hundreds of millions in the decades ahead if greenhouse-gas emissions are not cut significantly. And like many a war, there can be no winners if hostilities persist. The carbon club maintains that it is defending business and national interests. But according to the best available threat assessments, the consequences of the angry tide of climate change will in time wash over economies, grabbing territory and laying waste with the ferocity of the most efficient invading army.
Copyright 2000 From The Carbon War by Jeremy Leggett. Reproduced by permission of Routledge/Taylor & Francis Books, Inc. USA and Penguin Group UK.
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Debate started 23/07/2004 |
REPLIES POSTED: 16 |
BACKGROUND: Modern lifestyles have become increasingly energy-hungry and the threat of climate change looms large. How much energy do you get through each day? As it fuels the car you ride in, lights your home and runs your mobile phone, every drop of energy you use has had an impact on the environment. We burn fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – to power many aspects of our lives, but this produces the greenhouse gases blamed for climate change. In 2000 there were 6 billion people on Earth. By 2050 there will be 9 billion people, all demanding clean, reliable energy. Feelings run high on whether we can meet this demand without compromising either our lifestyles or the planet. |
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| Admin Admin |
Posted 23/07/2004 11:25 |
| Can we sustain our lifestyles and our planet? |
Will convenience be our downfall? |
| richbuzz |
Posted 05/08/2004 12:35 |
| United Kingdom |
1. "Can we sustain our lifestyles and our planet?"2. "Will convenience be our downfall?"1. I would say probably not, not they way things are going with present energy sources.....after all - the planet is a natural organism, resource hungry humans are blatantly destroying it. 2. Once again, probably, although what was the old saying? "Necessity is the mother of invention"There are those of us who are aware of the problems but the evident self destruction orchestrated from the so called world powers is an awesome beast to combat. |
| L1ST3N_H3R3 |
Posted 31/05/2005 13:05 |
| United Kingdom |
I think that it will be our downfall because when you advance in technology, there is almost always some catch to it, e.g. nuclear pwer. The waste has to be stored for thousands, even millions of years. |
| dolf |
Posted 05/06/2005 11:33 |
| Philippines |
its just as simple as no.our downfall might just be starting with thousands of people dying everyday due to famine caused by drought,natural disasters brought about by changes in weather pattern and those who die due to diseases and illnesses brought by pollution and poverty.what is bad is not our demand for energy but it is our inability to give back to earth what is good for her.yeah, we do give back but all we give are bad things that destroys her and it has its consequences. |
| helljohn |
Posted 13/06/2005 8:58 |
| United Kingdom |
We could if we wanted to:Apathy rules...who cares ? |
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