Climate change is occurring on planet Earth. The only
question is how we should respond. I suggested in a previous post that there is
a need to balance our society. That includes creating a Steady State Economy
that is bound by environmental necessities. Here are some steps that would need
to be taken.
Move Military Budgets to
Climate Change Response
The top 15 military nations in the world spend a combined $1,739 billion on defense. The defense budget of
the United States is one third of that total: $610 million. The cost of climate
change response will be staggering and every nation on the planet will be impacted.
It makes no logical sense to spend money to defend ourselves against each other,
when there is a much greater threat in climate change. Military budgets should
be turned to carbon reductions, climate resiliency, and disaster response. Military
service people could be moved to those areas of need. Their expertise would be
valuable in many situations. Climate change should be declared a national
emergency by every nation on Earth. Arms and technology companies can turn
their business towards environmental response. There would be much money to be
made. This would be disruptive to the economy at first, but quite simply we
have no choice. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to implement. Instead
of gradual change, waiting would create the need for immediate change, and that
would be much more disruptive.
Manage the Movement
of Humans
Climate change will render some geographical locations
uninhabitable due to temperature, sea level rise, and famine. Humans will need
to leave some areas and settle in new locations. That may sound like a negative
for regions not suffering as much from climate change, as they would likely receive
the refugees. But it doesn’t have to be a negative. There is concern over the
decline in population growth in developed nations. Leaders are worried that
there will not be a working population large enough to support the aging
population in developed countries. Immigration is an obvious solution. That
fuels fears because immigration is a mess in much of the world. However, it is
not problematic by its very nature. It is problematic because we lack an effective
system for migration on a large
scale. Denying entry to immigrants and creating huge refugee camps hurts
everyone and it is not sustainable. Developed nations need a workforce and
immigrants from high-impact climate change areas could provide that workforce.
The key is to have a fair system for resettlement that doesn’t have negative
consequences for the native population, and ensure that immigrants are treated
equitably and not exploited.
Share the Response to
Problems
People love to tout their country’s role in the global
economy and yet if you mention a problem in a far-off nation it is someone
else’s problem. National borders often can’t constrain issues in a country. The
refugee crisis in Europe is a prime example. Syria and other nations experience
violence and economic collapse. People flee. They have to go somewhere. That
leads to illegal immigration and refugee camps.
If we don’t think of these conflicts in a broader context we hurt ourselves.
It’s the same in the United States, where migrants are flooding the border as
they escape troubled nations in South and Central America. A thoughtful and effective response
would engage the cooperation of all countries involved. And yet we respond with
unilateral patches to the border.
Control Waste
We are drowning in our own waste. It is floating in giant patches in our oceans. It contaminates our drinking water and food sources. Developing nations are the most responsible for wholesale dumping of waste in oceans, but developed countries are just to blame. The United States is the number one waste creator in the world. We have sent our so-called recycling overseas for years, not wanting to know what is done with it. Now China no longer will take the world's recycling. Humans have a huge waste issue. We must develop more biodegradable materials and advance recycling in terms of technology and infrastructure. There is no reason for the United States and other developed nations not to have a robust recycling system that actually works. It will take disruptive government action and a lot of effort.
Support Education for All
Education has become a necessity in the global workforce. The number of low-skill jobs is declining and the need for skilled workers is great. While this has been most studied in the United States, it seems likely to be an issue worldwide as technology grows in developing nations. The Brookings Institution examined the issue. The authors suggest educational solutions. They also point out the need for equal access to education. A more responsive educational system could train workers for future employment, but it needs to be affordable and easily accessed by most people.
These suggestions may sound like science fiction right now, but they won’t for long. Climate change problems are growing worse. Environmental circumstances will soon make these actions inevitable.
And once again, why discuss this on an extraterrestrial contact blog? We can’t have much of a relationship with aliens if our world is a mess. And while we may look to extraterrestrials as saviors who can fix all of our problems, that is both naïve and dangerous. We face these issues no matter what the reality of intelligent extraterrestrial life. If we are alone in the universe we need to solve our own problems. If there are alien civilizations inhabiting far-off planets we need to solve our own problems. If aliens are watching us we need to solve our own problems. If aliens visit our solar system someday we will still need to solve our own problems.
Control Waste
We are drowning in our own waste. It is floating in giant patches in our oceans. It contaminates our drinking water and food sources. Developing nations are the most responsible for wholesale dumping of waste in oceans, but developed countries are just to blame. The United States is the number one waste creator in the world. We have sent our so-called recycling overseas for years, not wanting to know what is done with it. Now China no longer will take the world's recycling. Humans have a huge waste issue. We must develop more biodegradable materials and advance recycling in terms of technology and infrastructure. There is no reason for the United States and other developed nations not to have a robust recycling system that actually works. It will take disruptive government action and a lot of effort.
Support Education for All
Education has become a necessity in the global workforce. The number of low-skill jobs is declining and the need for skilled workers is great. While this has been most studied in the United States, it seems likely to be an issue worldwide as technology grows in developing nations. The Brookings Institution examined the issue. The authors suggest educational solutions. They also point out the need for equal access to education. A more responsive educational system could train workers for future employment, but it needs to be affordable and easily accessed by most people.
These suggestions may sound like science fiction right now, but they won’t for long. Climate change problems are growing worse. Environmental circumstances will soon make these actions inevitable.
And once again, why discuss this on an extraterrestrial contact blog? We can’t have much of a relationship with aliens if our world is a mess. And while we may look to extraterrestrials as saviors who can fix all of our problems, that is both naïve and dangerous. We face these issues no matter what the reality of intelligent extraterrestrial life. If we are alone in the universe we need to solve our own problems. If there are alien civilizations inhabiting far-off planets we need to solve our own problems. If aliens are watching us we need to solve our own problems. If aliens visit our solar system someday we will still need to solve our own problems.
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