Up and up and up

In a world that is obsessed with higher and higher growth, expressways and XUVs, where SUVs are becoming passé, where development  is equated only with highways, roads and spiffing airports, where man's insatiable consumption need  has to be met at any cost , where a desire to monetize any and everything , deforestation at the light of speed , where the slow dying of our coral reef does not seem to matter , where unsafe and high pollution levels make our cities unfit for us to breathe in or live in, the dropping dead of bee colonies by the millions, the drying up of our rivers, the destruction of wetlands that give way to sky scrapers, chemical riddled food, where nuclear contamination and radiation uncertainty is accepted, where we are unconcerned  about the acidification of our oceans and parts of our seas being declared sea dead,traffic jams

on the 8,848-metre high Everest caused by people who came from far away countries to “conquer” the peak ,instead leave behind  waste on the pristine white mountain , where dams are not good enough, but mega dams is the answer,  where glaciers melt rapidly, where peak summer temperatures are reached more frequently than ever, where we want growth at any cost,  a significant change happened to our planet.

We crossed 400 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide (C0₂) in the atmosphere again, earlier this month. To preserve a liveable planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 400 parts per million(ppm) to below 350 ppm.  But instead, we are rapidly and rapaciously adding more C0₂   into the atmosphere, making a planet that will not be habitable by humans.

It is then that I am reminded about what Gandhi said that distinguished modern civilization from our ancient civilization - the distinguishing characteristic of modern civilization is an indefinite multiplicity of wants ,where ancient civilization were marked by an “imperative restriction upon, and a strict regulating of these wants “. He detested the thought of the distance that man would go to in search of their satisfaction – “If modern civilization stands for all this, and I have understood it to do so, I call it satanic .“   This was in the year 1927.

While I contemplate our present and brood our future, I often ask where is all this leading to, who gains and who benefits  - for it is in this pursuit of what we call a "good life"  that  the falcon cannot hear the falconer.

So how did we get here ?

Latest reading: 400.27 ppm.CO2 concentration on May 16, 2013

Concentrations of the greenhouse gas ,carbon dioxide, in the global atmosphere have reached 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in human history.  

 But that's not all.

Man made CO2 emissions into the atmosphere will continue to rise and  will push temperatures further up.We have surpassed the safe levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.According to climate science, the safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million.

So how did we get here and can we get out of this hell ?

Before the industrial age CO2 emissions were at  275 ppm - and ever since then they have risen rapidly. So where did this unprecedented rise of CO2 come from  ?

Here is the quick and dirty list.

Burning of fossil fuel,such as oil, coal, and gas . We need all this to power our lives - from driving our cars, to taking that plane, to using our laptops, iPhones, ipads,washing machines, micro waves,air-conditioners and other what nots. Then the endless mass production and transportation of cheap goods in one continent, meant for another continent. Deforestation and changes in land use ! Forests are a precious resource and absorb enormous quantities  of carbon , they are the lungs of the planet and play a crucial role in stabilising climate - cutting them down puts this carbon back into the atmosphere. But we are cutting down our forests faster than they can ever be replaced.The reckless clearing of forest land for  mining and other infrastructure "development" - building of highways,express ways, shops, malls.The industrialization of agriculture , urbanisation and the conversion of fertile land to build industrial parks -  at break neck speeds- are some reasons for rise in CO2 emissions.

A new report from WWF shows that five Asian countries, Cambodia,Laos,Burma,Thailand and Vietnam has lost nearly one-third of their forests in the last 35 years and could be left with 10-20% of their original cover in 15 years.If the current rate of deforestation continues, the world's rain forests will vanish within 100 years- causing unknown effects on global climate.

So we can continue to live business-as-usual ,pumping CO2 into the atmosphere but in doing so we will destroy our planet. And when we destroy the planet, we destroy ourselves.