In the modern world humanity is faced with a variety of environmental problems that loom and threaten productivity of humans and wildlife alike. Present environmental issues of intense natural disasters, resource exploitation, pollution, and freshwater depletion are just some of the problems that result in loss of life, precipitate political strife, and intensify existing inequalities. But all environmental dilemmas are exacerbated by climate change. Climate change is the warming of the earth’s atmosphere from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are released during fossil fuel combustion and are trapping too much terrestrial radiation within the earth’s atmosphere. Some of these greenhouse gases are important for warming the earth and making it habitable from humans, but we are adding too much, too quickly and it is warming the globe and destabilizing natural geochemical cycles.
The climate crisis is anthropogenic and can be traced to beginning in the 19th century with the Industrial Revolution, when European countries switched from burning wood to coal. This increase can be seen as carbon dioxide levels in 1880 were 280 ppm (parts per million), and less than 150 years later, CO2 levels were at 420 ppm (Dr. Wasserman, 2022). And since the industrial revolution, the earth’s global temperature has increased by 1.1* C and is approaching 1.5 much too quickly. We are unsure if there is a tipping point, or if the earth’s temperature will keep increasing. During class this week, we investigated what would happen to the earth as temperatures increase to two, three, four, five, and finally six degrees. Already at one degree we are seeing serious biodiversity decline including the loss of the Golden Toad who went extinct in the 1980s after their spawning pools dried up from higher temperature. Then at two degrees we will see loss of human life from heat stroke due to dry, hot conditions and extreme natural disasters. Eventually at three and four degrees, soil won’t sequester carbon any more, meaning that it will instead release CO2 into the atmosphere. This switch could suggest a final tipping point that will plunge us into an apocalyptic scenario of major loss of life, from political upheaval, sea level rise, and mass migration across the globe. Eventually at five and six degrees humans would be “powerless to intervene as their planet began to turn into Venus” (Lyas, 2007). It was an intense and emotional discussion, but eye opening as it illustrated the reality of the climate crisis with apocalyptic, science fiction-esque rhetoric. And with this knowledge it is clear that the climate crisis is probably the most impending global threat that humans have ever faced.
With this horrific scenario resulting in the extinction of humanity, it is almost certain that biodiversity will be left to perish. Wildlife and other natural organisms can’t evolve fast enough to adapt to the speed of the changing climate and there will be repercussions on global resilience. But, as Lyas reminds us in Six Degrees, “the survival of the Siberian tiger would be a secondary concern in a world where human survival was itself becoming increasingly precarious” (Lyas, 2007). This is a thought-provoking statement when coming to one of the most biodiverse locations on the planet and seeing the intense conservation efforts being completed for species survival. One program we saw was at the Piro Research Station under the leadership of Osa Conservation. At this location, they were implementing extensive Sea Turtle conservation programs in the fight against global sea turtle population decline. Sea turtles are hurt by anthropogenic pollution and poaching, but with climate change they will be pushed to extinction. This is because sea turtles exhibit temperature dependent sex-determination and the sex ratio will become skewed as temperatures increase. Future embryos will develop into females and sea turtles will die out from the lack of sexual reproduction. And this will occur under climate change even despite all of the hard work from modern sea turtle conservation. And therefore, it’s clear that one of the most important conservation efforts is the battle against climate change.
But, a fight against climate change is also the most important method for addressing other social and economic problems, because climate change will impact specific geographic locations and impoverished communities more harshly. We saw this impending issue first-hand here in Costa Rica. During our travels we visited a fancy resort called La Foresta in Quapos, a tourist city on the pacific coast of the country. At our time at La Foresta we were spoiled with queen-sized beds, warm showers, and a fantastic cuisine. But, during our final night at this resort, torrential storms hit the pacific coast. It started off like any storm we’d experienced in Costa Rica, but turned dangerous as water poured through the roof of the restaurant. And eventually, we were quickly evacuated due to the threat of the roof caving in. As we sprinted back to our rooms, we found water flowing in the walkways and had to wade in waters above our shins. Some of us managed to escape into our rooms, but there were a select few who had to evacuate their rooms due to the flood. In a way to make the incident comical some of us labeled it the “Great La Foresta Flood of 2022” or “La Floodesta”, but after listening and some analyzing it was clear that this event was unusual even for the precipitation in Costa Rica. We learned later that the employees of La Foresta were shocked by the downpour and worried about their family and homes during the flood.
The next day our group was treated to breakfast and left on our bus for Piro. But the flood truly displayed the reality of climate change and how it impacts people differently. We went through a flood but we were extremely fortunate because although mildly inconvenienced, none of our belongings were destroyed, and no one was hurt. And not only that but we were able to leave the problem for another location. However, the employees did not have this luxury or ability to move away from the event. Instead they had to deal with the lasting impacts and repercussions. They were resilient, but with each extreme event, recovery will be more economically challenging, until there may not be any other option than migration. But, safe migration requires financial resources, something that may not be viable until the situation is so dire that there is no other choice. Realizing this inequity and seeing it firsthand, while learning about climate change was eye opening to say the least, but reminds me of the imperative need for climate change action. Climate policy will help protect biodiversity from rapid decline, but will also protect individuals who are most vulnerable. Therefore, going into the next week we will be debating feasible resolutions and hopefully there will be manageable results that we can take back to the United States and help within our communities, to help the overall survival of the global community.
Works cited:
Lynas, M. (2007). Six Degrees. Fourth Estate Ltd. Publishers.
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