Amy Goodman: Climate Science’s Dire Warning: Humans Are Baking the Planet - Truthdig

Amy Goodman: Climate Science’s Dire Warning: Humans Are Baking the Planet - Truthdig

The majority of the world is convinced that humans are changing the
climate, for the worse. Now, evidence is mounting that paints just how
grim a future we are making for ourselves and the planet. We will
experience more extreme weather events, including hurricanes and
droughts, mass extinctions and severe food shortages globally. The
world’s leading group of climate-change experts, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, has issued its most recent report after a
five-day meeting last week in Yokohama, Japan. The IPCC, over 1,800
scientists from around the world, collects, analyzes and synthesizes the
best, solid science on climate and related fields. The prognosis is not
good.

At the news conference announcing the report, IPCC chairperson
Rajendra Pachauri warned, “If the world doesn’t do anything about
mitigating the emissions of greenhouse gases and the extent of climate
change continues to increase, then the very social stability of human
systems could be at stake.” Pachauri speaks with the discipline of a
scientist and the reserve of a diplomat. The latest report, though,
states clearly: “Climate change can indirectly increase risks of violent
conflicts in the form of civil war and inter-group violence.” It
stresses how the world food supply, already experiencing stress, will be
impacted, and those who are most vulnerable will be the first to go
hungry. But the problem is even larger.