Just saw Jeremy's Video -- OMG!
I just saw Jeremy Rifkin, the great economist, speak on YouTube about Global Issues and the Future of Our Planet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9wM-p8wTq4 .
Ever since, I can't get his message out of my head. It seems pretty clear to me that we are heading toward a planetary calamity if we don't do something soon, yet people don't seem to get the severity and imminent danger we are all facing. Has anyone else seen it? What do you think?
Science is proving that the overall temperature of the earth is increasing. The temperatures in the Arctic as well as in the oceans around the world are increasing and ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. Animals and people located in these areas are slowly seeing their way of life becoming affected from the changes in weather to the changes in their food sources. Although one may disagree with what Rifkin proposes in terms of addressing these issues, the overall truth is that we are losing our planet and must begin to actively address these issues.
I don't think many of us believe that we as individuals exist on such a vast scale, or that we as individuals matter even on much smaller scales. Our governments can function without or in spite of our input. Our communities are unaffected by our coming and going. Even our families and loved ones can go on without us (children move away, exes remarry, dogs run away). So a problem of this magnitude becomes pointless to stress about.
I am just a person, and couldn't have created this problem, so how could I possibly do anything about it?
It brings up a lot of questions about what to do and which direction should progress come from? Should we be putting our efforts toward conserving what we have in the ways we currently have available to us, or should we be researching new technologies that will make us more energy independent?
The answer is probably "both" and there's some pretty exciting stuff going on in the realm of technology, here's an example: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/01/quantum-dots-could-coat-the-world-in-nano-sized-solar-panels/