GLOBAL CLIMATE DEBATE

Daniel Bigelow – Grand Portage, MN

I.
In the past century mankind has been taking fossil fuels, burning it for energy and dumping the unused waste in the atmosphere and oceans. Though our ignorance we assumed the atmosphere and oceans could absorb our waste and life would go on relatively undamaged. We now know that this assumption is the greatest error that has ever been committed by a life form in earth’s history. We are now midstream in the process of changing the chemistry of the earth’s environment. 50 years from now science is saying our atmosphere and oceans will be alien to present life.

I have some thoughts on solutions to these problems that mankind has created. To take action against this world wide problem will require a massive mobilization of all the world’s nations to combat this threat to mankind and to most of life on this earth. This will be equivalent to a world war.

Solutions:
First the world has to acknowledge that dumping fossil fuel waste in the atmosphere is the same a dumping garbage and industrial waste in landfill. An appropriate fee must be charged for the cost of cleanup and restoration.
- The nations of the world must levy a carbon pollution fee on the use of all fossil fuels used on this earth. The amount paid on this fee has to reflect the amount of cost and damage that this pollution is causing to our earth’s oceans and atmosphere. The amount has to be determined by hard science.
- The carbon pollution fee has to go to funding three important priorities:
1. Tax money goes to all owners of forested land that sequesters carbon pollution from the air and puts it in the ground. This includes payments to private and corporation land owners, cities, states, provinces and countries. The amount has to be determined by the best science we have to give an accurate value on how much one acre of forest land has in sequestering our man made carbon pollution. By doing this we will be putting true value on our forested land.
2. WE have to fund the best research and development both private and government to sequester carbon and other damaging pollutions, discover or invent new ways of transportation that leaves no carbon pollution and develop methods of manufacturing that leaves a minimal pollution foot print. This is a war that must be won it will require all the nations best minds and resources it has to be fought as a world war. If we do not face this beast that we created now, we will condemn our grand children to living in a world where the primary life in our oceans are slime and jelly fish and the most successful life on land is mosquitoes and disease. Diversity of life that we love today will just be a memory.
3. We have to learn, teach and fund sustainable agriculture world wide. The agriculture chemicals now used are destroying our lands, our rivers, our lakes and our oceans. We are absolutely guaranteed to have world wide famines every year in the near future. Also guaranteed food and water wars between nations. This fee on carbon pollution does not have to start as a world wide agreement it can start with the United States and Canada. The process would then expand rapidly through out the entire world. The carbon pollution would work for two reasons:
a. It is the right thing to do and it has to be done.
b. Economically it makes sense because every nation that agrees to charge this pollution fee will charge a pollution fee on every import it receives from nations that have not agreed. Therefore every nation that does agree to this carbon pollution fee will then start receiving income for their, now very valuable forests.

This world war is already almost over while the people of the wealthy nations have been trying to live the unsustainable life that they are accustomed to; the pollution created by this life style is taking all the life on this world down a path of great change. Some life will thrive with the new chemistry of the oceans and the atmosphere and some life will struggle to survive and adapt. Most of life will not survive. Time is not on our side in this war. If we can end our carbon pollution in the next decade we might be able to win this war.

Mankind still faces the problem of over population and growing enough food to feed our human population. Here are Solutions:
- Over Population: The governments of this world need to commit themselves to providing the best education possible to all the girls in their country. It is very important that all the girls learn that through education they can have any career that they chose.
- The governments of the world need to commit themselves to providing support to all the women in their country in their choices in academics, careers and business. In a perfect world men and women should be equal in life. In order for the world’s human population to decrease to the level where mankind is sustain ably balanced with the earth’s resources, women will have to have the position as first among equals for the next 4 to 5 generations. Women have to know that motherhood is one of many options.
- Feeding everyone on our earth: To create a medium where all of mankind can enjoy the necessities of life, proper food, sanitation, clean water, good education and a shared hope of an ever better future. It will take a global marshal plan.

Here are my thoughts:
1. The armies and the navies need to stop preparing for war and leave their bases and help poor communities around the world build good sanitation systems, clean water systems, alternative energy systems, not only for basic needs but also to be connected with the rest of the world , particularly schools and hospitals. While working along side of the armies and navies will be doctors and nurses to help establish services for basic medical care. Most important have men and women who are trained in sustainable agriculture to teach in their local communities. Finally to grow the best crops for their local environment and how to do it all sustain ably.

2. To provide the manpower for this monumental task, I propose that, the governments of the world mandate a civil service requirement of two years service for all high school or college graduates and they can chose to provide the services at home or abroad.

In summary, if we as a world move quickly and boldly as if our children, grand, children and great grand children’s lives depended on it, we can create great change quickly.

Thank You for your attention.