Long Walks On Leafy Streets

8/27/2017 Fenton Street, Takoma Park, MD.
I just read about the horrible tragedy in Houston caused by the unprecedented floods unleashed by Hurricane Harvey, in the New York Times. One could only hope that the damage is not too great and that the city will recover from this soon. In the new world that we live in with its altered climate we have to expect that such catastrophes would become commonplace. On the same day there is an article in the same newspaper talking about how new passages have opened up in the northern polar regions due to the melting of the Arctic ice.

What is terribly frustrating is to think that perhaps some of this could have been actually prevented if we had acted to limit our carbon emissions. There is a clear link between climate change and the increasing intensity of hurricanes and floods. Nicole and I just saw Al Gore’s “The Inconvenient Sequel.” It is mainly about his efforts to bring about the Paris climate accord.
In it he shows how warmer ocean waters make hurricanes stronger and increase the amount of rain they could bring. One doesn’t need to see this movie to understand this. When the ocean is warmer the pressure differences are increased, thus making for stronger storms. Moreover, as the water gets warmer more of it evaporates into clouds, bringing more rains. So even if individual storms or the number of storms cannot be related to climate change with certainty, there is no doubt that climate change has a major influence on their intensity.

One of the best lines of the movie comes towards the end when Gore meets with the conservative Mayor of a small town in Texas called Georgetown. His town is one of many localities in the country that have decided to go big on renewable energy like wind and solar. He says, “Even if it is the case that climate change is not an issue, it just makes sense that the less stuff we put into the air the better.” I wish more of our politicians shared this kind of common sense. The truth is that the politicians know what is at stake. The people know what is at stake. The problem is that reducing carbon emissions requires a major change in the business model of the fossil-fuel industries. The oil industry stands to lose billions and billions of dollars. That is why groups funded by the oil industry, in particular Exxon-Mobil and the Koch brothers, have worked to spread confusion in the minds of people about climate change. Their intense lobbying efforts have basically paralyzed American politicians and prevented them from doing anything on climate change. Starting from George Bush’s withdrawing from the Kyoto protocol to the current President withdrawing from the Paris accords it has been one failure after another. The only silver lining here is that all the other countries in the world, especially India and China, are now accepting the science and working hard to increase renewable energy production and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Another pleasant development is the rapid increase in production of wind and solar energy caused by advancing technology and consequent reduction in costs. The Obama administration deserves some credit for this. There is a way out of this, for the oil companies. They could diversify into production of biofuels and also get into carbon sequestration which involves drilling deep into the ground to inject carbon for which they are well equipped. Oil companies have done all of this but obviously at some point in the past for some reason decided that they just want to keep pumping oil.

One cannot live in despair, though. Although I have done a little bit in my own life to reduce my use of resources I have also been trying to talk to others about it and get them to do more, whether it is people in general or friends and family or students at Howard. I cannot say I am satisfied with what I have accomplished, by any stretch. I hope God will show me some way to make a difference in this regard. This is also my way of doing something for India because India is one of the most threatened regions when it comes to climate change. Coupled with the enormous population that we have, India is a time bomb ready to go off. I don’t want to imagine what would happen if the monsoons were to be significantly disrupted or the glaciers in the Himalayas were to melt rapidly.

The problem is that it is really difficult for people without a decent understanding of science to grasp the enormity of the challenges that we face, when it comes to climate change. Even educated, well meaning people tend to not want to believe that things are really that bad. It is also difficult to convince people to change their habits and get out of their comfort zone when it comes to the way they live. They are used to the convenience of gas stations and electricity coming from the grid. They are busy with their families and trying to get by and simply choose the most convenient and comfortable ways to do things.

So one needs to be very skillful in dealing with people if one wants to succeed in persuading them. I know that I am not the most skillful person in that aspect of life. I have much to learn but am fortunate that Nicole is, and I learn a lot from her every day. I also hope to become more mindful, and learn how to go about life in a calm and balanced way. That would help me in talking to everyone in a peaceful and loving way. That is the only way that one could bring about change.

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