10 Ways the Earth Is Trying to Kill You | HowStuffWorks
Massive floods sweeping through Kerala , a state in southern India, have killed more than people and displaced , JUST AS there can be no doubt that a climate change disaster is already taking place, there can be no doubt about its cause: The source of environmental destruction, spreading pollution, immense waste and the failure to address the long-term effects of all of these is an economic and social system that prioritizes the profit and power of a few over the needs of the many.
Only from here can we start to put forward real solutions to the ecological crisis we face today — and begin to envision what a different world we could live in if human and ecological needs were put ahead of profits. Capitalism is driven by the endless pursuit of profit. It is a system that has no consideration for the long-term health and well-being of the vast majority of people on the planet, let alone the natural world — the land we live on, the water we drink, the air we breathe.
Expropriation and exploitation of both land and labor are vital to capitalism. They are turned into commodities to be bought and sold on the market. The history of the U. Capitalism in the U.
This is what it would take to kill all life on Earth
The exploitation and oppression continue to this day, in different forms, because they are built into the system. The profits are privatized while costs are socialized. Capitalists accumulate as much wealth as possible, while taking no responsibility for the negative consequences for society, including environmental devastation. The whole world suffers the destruction and chaos of living under extreme conditions of climate change caused by a capitalist system that chooses short-term profit over long-term sustainability.
There is also an inbuilt destructiveness to the system because of endless competition among capitalists as they attempt to capture markets and profits. One consequence of this is that the militaries of different states compete by means of arms — to win geopolitical influence and gain access to natural resources, cheap labor and markets. Under capitalism, new technology is only used if it is profitable to do so. As a result, overproduction and endless waste are an inherent part of capitalism. For instance, the goal of producing homes under capitalism is not to house more people, but to make the most money for the people who own — and if that means leaving some completely built homes empty to raise the price, so be it.
The disregard of the 1 Percent for the long-term consequences of their actions is stunning. One case in point is the U. It has been indisputable for 10 years and far longer that the extraction and burning of fossil fuels is causing rising global temperatures, which leads to all kinds of ecological destruction.
But instead of reversing course — and using the technology that already exists to produce sustainable energy — the U. The main reason for this is the boom in hydraulic fracturing , or fracking — a process in which a toxic mix of water and chemicals is pumped into shale rock at high pressure to release natural gas and oil deposits. The extraction boom — which took place even as scientists were detecting ever-more alarming evidence of ecological crisis — was about getting cheaper energy for U. And for good reason: If the Democratic Party is the champion of the environment, as it claims, then why did the Democratic National Committee DNC overturn a ban on candidates taking contributions from fossil fuel companies?
Jerry Brown are credited as being groundbreakers against climate change. Where he took some pro-environment measures, the pressure of a movement demanding climate justice has never been far behind. For example, Obama canceled the permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline only when activists committed to protest and direct action refused to be silent.
10 Ways the Earth Is Trying to Kill You
But this followed a historic struggle led by the Lakota the Standing Rock Sioux , with the support of other Indigenous nations here and around the world, along with tens of thousands of non-Native activists, who all came together at Standing Rock. Brown has at least continued to press for increased use of renewable energy to meet targets for lower CO2 emissions — but one motivation is to allow for continued oil and gas extraction and production.
California is the fourth-largest producer of fossil fuels among the 50 states , after Texas, North Dakota and Alaska. This year, that was August 1 — just one month past the midpoint of the year. Take the carbon out of your commute. Strive for zero waste. Eat less meat and more veggies. Tread lightly when you travel.
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Take another California example: The state has suffered an ongoing cycle of droughts, which has put freshwater aquifers in jeopardy. The solution put forward by political and business leaders is for individuals to consume less water — and many working class people have happily done so, with the state meeting community conservation targets. Ordinary people have no control over that at all. Instead of blaming them for supposedly consuming too much, we need to question how food is produced as commodities and how these commodities are transported.
What we need is a rational agriculture system that takes into account conservation and sustainability.
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You can only truly do this under a social and economic system that is planned, where everyone has a democratic say in how resources are used. Even in the U. Meanwhile, the level of inequality is growing on a daily basis in the U. Sean Sweeney, a leader in Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, points to the role of workers in ending climate change:. The problem is not emissions, the problem is capitalism. The climate issue is like every other issue. It threatens their food, their water, their lives. Extending the political and economic influence of workers is crucial to solving the climate crisis.
South and Central America have suffered the greatest impact, with some 89 percent of their vertebrate species lost. Far-reaching plastic waste also puts our marine — especially freshwater — life at high risk. Fish in lakes, rivers and wetlands have declined by 83 percent since Human activity has crushed the habitats and natural resources that wildlife and humanity depend on: Earth is estimated to have lost about half of its shallow water corals in the past 30 years — and 20 percent of the Amazon has disappeared in just 50 years.
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Our report sets out an ambitious agenda for change. We are going to need your help to achieve it. Karlie Kloss' running coach shares his best tips for first View author archive Get author RSS feed. Courtesy of WWF Human activity has crushed the habitats and natural resources that wildlife and humanity depend on: