Whose fault is the melting ice?
From Worldchanging-- the Inuit are suing the United States for human rights violations because global warming is destroying their way of life.
This is interesting and multidimensional. It is a direct attempt to hold a state legally responsible for its environmental actions. The US is a huge carbon emitter and has shown little interest in international environmental policy, such as the Kyoto Protocol.
And yet.... given that we're talking about global industry causing the global environmental problems, might it be the wrong tactic to start singling out specific countries to sue? The whole point is that we're all in this together. Not acting in line with that truth is what led to the problems. And the solutions will come when we embrace that truth.
Another concern is that expecting a constant climate of course violates 4 billion years of Earth's evolution. "Climate change" is a fact, and will never end no matter how "green" we get. It is pure fantasy to think that different policies and industrial actions will lead to a climate that is always under control and can be shaped to our will.
But that's not to say that action doesn't matter or that we shouldn't make (drastic) efforts to change our carbon output. Clearly there is a problem, and we need to respond.
But we need to be clear why we are responding. It's not to make everything eternally perfect. It's to hone our ability to respond. That is all.
The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) claims the US is failing to control emissions of greenhouse gases, damaging livelihoods in the Arctic. Its petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights demands that the US limits its emissions. [...]
This is interesting and multidimensional. It is a direct attempt to hold a state legally responsible for its environmental actions. The US is a huge carbon emitter and has shown little interest in international environmental policy, such as the Kyoto Protocol.
And yet.... given that we're talking about global industry causing the global environmental problems, might it be the wrong tactic to start singling out specific countries to sue? The whole point is that we're all in this together. Not acting in line with that truth is what led to the problems. And the solutions will come when we embrace that truth.
Another concern is that expecting a constant climate of course violates 4 billion years of Earth's evolution. "Climate change" is a fact, and will never end no matter how "green" we get. It is pure fantasy to think that different policies and industrial actions will lead to a climate that is always under control and can be shaped to our will.
But that's not to say that action doesn't matter or that we shouldn't make (drastic) efforts to change our carbon output. Clearly there is a problem, and we need to respond.
But we need to be clear why we are responding. It's not to make everything eternally perfect. It's to hone our ability to respond. That is all.
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