Posts
The
Orwellian Climate and Faustian Bargain
Dr.
Andrew Glikson
22
May, 2018
“Two
plus two is five – if the party says so” (George
Orwell)
Should
anyone record the history of the 20th and 21st centuries, they may
report that, while temperatures and sea levels were rising, the human
sense of reality has been clouded by electronic system, including
television, the internet and smart phones, by science fiction,
virtual realities, public circuses, fake news, gratuitous hype and
superlatives, overtaking common sense and the quest for protection of
the Earth and the survival of the species.
As
glaciers melt, sea levels rise at an accelerate rate and intense
hurricanes and wildfires increase, by a factor of ~3 since early in
the 20th century, unthinkable
consequences of runaway global warming and nuclear wars loom. A new
Orwellian age of fake news, half-truths, cover-ups and false flags is
becoming the order of the day. When
$trillions are spent on weapons of mass destruction
instead of protecting nature and humanity from global heating, the
hapless inhabitants of planet Earth are left with a non-choice
between a nuclear winter and a greenhouse summer. When politicians
lay flowers on the graves of soldiers and at the same time re-arming
for future wars, or decline to endorse anti-nuclear treaties, or
pledge token action on climate change while promoting new coal mines,
can anyone believe it when they talk about a “future”?
Hoodwinked
by the half-truths of a conscience-free mainstream media, the
inhabitants of suburbia international have become more interested in
cricket ball tampering, Eurovision-type circuses and royal weddings,
allowing the “powers that be” to proceed with policies leading
toward ecocide and genocide.
It
may or may not be understood, but is hardly reported by the
mainstream media that, under a global temperature rise of +1.5C,
which has already been reached over the continents (see this),
sea level is committed to rise by more than 10 meters, flooding
coastal plains, delta and low river valleys where the bulk of the
world’s population live and grows food, and where major industrial
centers and cities are located. This would include large parts of
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Viet Nam, China, Philippines, Egypt,
Italy, Netherlands, Germany, UK, southeast USA, and many other parts
of the world, triggering large waves of migration. Although the
precise time table is unclear, several meters sea level rise during
the 21st century is possible.
Source:
author
Depending
on the extent to which fossil fuel combustion and amplifying
feedbacks take place, on current trajectories warming would rise
toward and beyond +2 degree Celsius, amplified by the release of
methane from the polar oceans and from melting permafrost. A rise of
global temperatures to and above Pliocene (5.2-2.6 million years-ago)
level (+2C to +3C) would result in 25+/-12 meters sea level rise and
higher, changing the map of the world (see this).
It
does it look as if the Empire is inclined to do much
to arrest climate change. In so far as the rest of the world may
decide to attempt to limit global warming, this would depend on:
- Whether the rise in global temperature has already reached a point of no return?
- Whether current emission levels will be halted and negative emissions, namely carbon capture and storage, can be sequestered on a scale that can arrest and reverse global heating?
- Whether governments may undertake such measures despite pressure by the fossil fuel industry and their powerful lobbies?
- Would governments be able to divert the $trillion-scale funds from the military-industrial complex toward climate mitigation and adaptation?
On
January 17, 1961, retiring President
Dwight D. Eisenhower warned
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist”.
If
leaders are unwilling or unable to convey the facts of climate change
to the populations, what chance is there they would be prepared to
elaborate on the enormous danger of a global nuclear
conflict? Although
in principle the advent of nuclear weapons is supposed to have
rendered wars obsolete, at present no negotiations are being held
between the big powers on limiting nuclear weapons or removing them
from on-alert state. Given the absence of real ideological
differences between west and east, both dominated by oligarchs, a
rising rivalry based on oil and weapons is pushing the world toward a
nuclear suicide pact by accident or design.
The
first casualty of war being the truth (Hiram Johnson), in the lack of
leadership this role should fall on the Fourth Estate. Dominated by
the rating and infotainment, much of the mainstream media has
undertaken the role of prosecutor, judge and jury on behalf of
dominant political lobbies. Rather than advocating peace, much of the
press vilifies perceived enemies using derogatory language. No one
wants to believe in conspiracy theories, such are propagated where it
serves a political purpose, but history is full of examples of false
flag attacks, some of which have led to war:
The
realities of the world belong to the starved masses bombarded in
distant regions, not to those who watch them on television. Should
there be anyone to record the history of the 20th and
21st centuries, they may observe that, while temperatures and
sea levels were rising, the human sense of veracity has been clouded
by electronic systems, including television, internet, smart phones,
Facebook, Twitter, public circuses, science fictions, fake news,
virtual realities, hype and superlatives, overtaking the human common
sense and the quest for survival.
*
Dr
Andrew Glikson, Earth
and Paleo-climate science, ANU School of Anthropology and
Archaeology, ANU Climate Change Institute, ANU Planetary
Science Institute, Honorary Associate Professor, Geothermal
Energy Centre of Excellence, University of Queensland. Dr. Andrew
Glikson is a frequent contributor to Global Research.
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