Discuss: Whatever Lies Ahead, We Know It’s Main Dimensions Will Emerge Over the Next Two Decades

The idealists with a fantasy of an infinite globe have been pegged back in recent months with the global credit crunch. Some of the indestructible investment banks of the past are no more, and the worst is yet to come. Everyone has felt the pinch, from bankers losing millions, to pensioners paying more for a pint of milk. International bailout packages have topped $2,800bn (BBC news 2008) and even still, there is no sign of recovery in the global economy. The economic growth enjoyed by all over the last few years has magnificently collapsed and the fact that the monetary loss is quantifiable to all means it is impossible not to think about it. Economic sustainability is now a big issue for individuals, world leaders and governments inclusive. What about environmental sustainability? Is this an issue too? Not to most people.

Whatever lies ahead, may well emerge over the next two decades, but what about the last ten, twenty or even one hundred years previously? Perhaps one of the most commonly used modern quotes regarding climate change is “the greatest market failure the world has ever seen,” from the Stern Review (Stern, 2006). Many people today would laugh this statement off and point to the aptly coined “credit crunch” and point to the aforementioned bailout figures, rather than climate change, which to many is still just a Green Crusade and not a potential global crisis.

If we look at the environmental forecasts for the future, we see the reasons why prevalent public figures such as Al Gore have made an effort to raise awareness of the current and potential issues our unsustainable lifestyles are causing. Excessive consumption, unnecessary production, vast quantities of waste and outrageous disparities between rich and poor have combine to put the future of both humankind and the planet in question. There is ever-more statistical evidence that this development path is unsustainable.

Compared to the monetary effects of the current economic crisis, environmental issues can prove more ambiguous in their nature and be harder to comprehend for the average person. However, for those geographically and emotionally affected: the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes doubling in the last 30 years will make a real difference (Emanuel, K. 2005). Other facts such as “The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade,” tend to be ignored as they do not directly impact people’s lives (Krabill, W., 2004).  In many countries, global warming is simply ignored, turned away like a schoolyard rumour. Scientists warn that if global warming continues the effects could be devastating: Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years — to 300,000 people a year; Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide; Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense; Droughts and wildfires will occur more often; The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.8 and More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050 (Various 2004-2008). All of these could cause huge issues for the micro-ecosystems in question and hence it is important they are taken just as seriously as an economic crisis.