Scientists from the “International Programme on the State of the Ocean” said “the oceans are changing faster than anticipated and increasingly are becoming inhospitable to life. The excess CO2 and heat in the atmosphere is rapidly warming and acidifying ocean seas.” This is compounded (the report noted) by increased levels of deoxygenation from nutrient runoffs from farming and climate change. The scientists call these effects a deadly trio, that when combined, are creating changes in the seas, that (in their words) are unprecedented in the planet’s history. Scientists wrote that each of the Earth’s five known mass extinctions was preceded by at least one of these deadly trios: acidification, warming and deoxygenation. They warned “the next mass extinction of sea life is already underway, the first such mass extinction in 55 million years.”
The University of Hawaii also released a new report saying that the effects of climate change are now inevitable. They cannot be stopped. At best the rate of devastation can be slowed. The report predicated over the next 50 years, temperature levels will rise to such a degree that human life in many parts of the planet will become unsustainable. Millions upon millions of people will flee as refugees. Millions of species will face extinction. Coastal cities such as New York and even inland cities such as London will become unliveable. Microbes seem set to inherit the Earth.
Please watch Chris Hedges (Pulitzer Prize recipient) speech at Moravian College on Tuesday, October 22. Hedges is the seventh Peace and Justice Scholar in Residence at Moravian College. His talk was drawn from his most recent book, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. He speaks of the swift disintegration of the ecosystem currently underway. View the full speech here:
Please watch Chris Hedges speak about “Unfettered Capitalism”
