Make climate an election issue

Elect those who grasp the gravity of the situation

New scientific evidence suggests that the carbon dioxide levels on earth right now are the highest they have been in 15 million years. Scientists also believe that the last time levels were this high, the sea level was about 75 to 120 feet higher than now, there were no permanent ice caps in the Arctic, there was very little ice in Antarctica and Greenland, global temperatures were 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than today, and no humans were in sight. In

April, the Mauna Loa Observatory in

Hawaii found that the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere stayed at 410 parts per million (ppm) across an entire month for the first time since measurements began to be taken. In case there was any doubt about it, this is all bad news. It is only a people’s revolution that can save what little of the earth there is left to protect.

Increasing levels of greenhouse gases — of which carbon dioxide is one of the most important ones — can lead to drastic changes on earth. It is important to also keep in mind that climate crises will not occur in linear, cause-and-effect ways. The earth’s biosphere is a complex system in which events and crises reinforce and transform one another, causing non-linear, unpredictable changes. This means that the ecological volatility of the earth in its current state is unpredictable and doomsday could be around the corner. The only thing we know for sure is that increasing CO2 levels will definitely lead to melting polar ice caps and an increase in sea levels. Several island nations, such as the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Tuvalu, are implementing adaptation strategies such as building walls around major cities and negotiating resettlement plans for entire populations with other nations. Not only does this mean that life in its present form will be disrupted, it also means that for a large section of people from island, coastal and low-lying areas, their histories, traditions, and cultures will be lost forever.

There is no longer any doubt that this extreme situation will occur. But governments, corporations, and international agencies have thus far not done enough to mitigate the problem, and appear increasingly incapable of implementing effective adaptation strategies either. Perhaps it is time for a people’s revolution to jolt the powerful out of their lethargy. The need of the hour is to make climate and the environment an election issue; and only vote to power those who grasp the gravity of the situation.