A new study, covered in New Scientist, predicts that 50% of the unique climates on earth will be destroyed by the end of the century due to climate change. 30% of all species will be extinct with a catastrophic affect on the biodiversity that serves as a leveling mechanism for the planet’s climate. Add in a 50% growth in human population by 2050 and we start to look more like a virus than a viable part of the planet’s ecosystem.
Click the image for a map set of disappearing climates.

A new study looked at world populations living within thirty feet of sea level:

“The 10 countries with the most people in the low coastal areas are China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt, United States, Thailand, and the Philippines.”

Most are in cities. The danger comes from storm surge, tides and other weather along with the rise.
Click the picture for a larger version.

My sister’s husband’s son Jon-David is working and living in Taiwan. He recently sent me an email about his trip to the mainland and the incredible disparity between the rapidly modernizing cities and the extreme poverty of the rural areas:

‘ Anyways…. about China…. Man — I saw some strange things there. The cities were some of the most modern / developed I’ve ever seen (Qingdao / Shenzhen). Big buildings, fancy cars, good restaurants, etc, etc, etc.

But outside of the big cities, it was by far the poorest, least developed place I’ve ever been to. In Tai’An — six hours west of Qingdao, by train — it was so dirty that the air was literally brown. There was no grass on the ground — just dry dirt. And the factories were everywhere…. pumping out mountain-clouds of dark, black, smoke / soot.

All of the people were dirty. Filth saturated their skin and clothing. They wore old, spartan rags for shirts, not nearly thick enough to protect them from the Tai’An winter cold. Also, none of them had cars or motorcycles. The primary form of transportation was either bicycle or foot. I saw people walking down huge, long stretches of newly-paved road. God only knows how long they had been walking. And their houses….. either factory dormitories with broken windows…. or ramsackle shacks that a strong rain storm could wash away. Pretty amazing to say the least.

That being said, although the people were pretty rough, they all seemed kinda happy. They were generally happy to see me in their town, and each person that I spoke with seemed optimistic about the future of China and the future of their lives.

So even though I saw some shocking things — including Greenhouse gas producers that would send Al Gore to his grave — I left the scene with a nice optimistic feeling — of a people that are being pulled out of poverty with good, old-fashioned capatilism. Bravo! ‘

It was nice of him to end on a note of optimism. However, given the horrendous pollution he describes and the fact that China is building very dirty coal plants at the rate of one a week, the problem there may be the worst impediment to dealing with climate change.

He also sent a recommended reading list which I’ll post soon- I’m fascinated by China and hope to get there in the near future so I’m going to be doing some reading…

Update: Here’s some satellite images of the haze over China (NASA)

I recently added another category for my posts, Green Business. You can see the categories in the ‘cloud’ in the right hand column. These clouds are a new way of displaying information. Each category’s font size grows as more posts on that subject are added. Green Business is in teeny tiny type right now because its a new category and I have not gone back and tagged old posts with it. I suspect that if I did, it would be one of the most prominent in the cloud.
The cloud fascinates me because it shows how interrelated these subjects are- I almost never have one subject assigned to a post. The cloud also embraces some subjects that are not listed. You don’t see Iraq War as a category, nor do you see Bush Cheney, even though I frequently post on these subjects. That’s because I feel that Energy is a unifying issue in these subjects: We fight in Iraq because of a terrible fear in the executive branch that if we don’t get an oil-rich country for ourselves, we’re screwed. The fact that Bush Cheney both come out of the fossil fuel cloud isn’t lost on anyone at this point.

Walter Reed and War Spin
Perhaps the best example of how things have changed politically since the election is the scandal over treatment of wounded soldiers (they’re not veterans until they are discharged from the military). Every time a Democrat votes to defund the war the right sends the message that they are hurting our troops. Yet the reality uncovered in the Walter Reed scandal is that the neo-conservatives don’t give a damn about the troops- all they care about is pursuing their oil wars. They have made a decision that it is worth paying a price in human suffering to get a foothold in oil country.
Is this too cynical and harsh? Read the stories of how impossible it is to live as a wounded soldier. Now look at the wealth accumulated by the Rumsfelds and Cheneys, not to mention the oil executives and Halliburtons of the world. This is all about short term gains.

Why They Block Innovative Energy Technology and Efficiency Standards
This is simple. The wealth the oil policies generate is so great that the beneficiaries are establishing a ruling class of legacy wealth that will outlive any disasters, wars, climate calamities, etc. Bush is already an example of such a royal clan as are Cheney and Rumsfeld. Their descendants will never have to deal with anything but the best.
If we enforce efficiencies and develop clean, cheap alternative energy sources this destruction of the middle class will fail. Cheap energy is a great democratizing force no matter where you live in the world. Blocking cheap energy and raising prices short term through wars is a way of destroying the middle class and building a world aristocracy.

Don’t get the wrong idea- I’m not a socialist, I’m a capitalist who believes in free markets and a global economy. Free markets cannot exist when a small power group are politically manipulating things to benefit their own agenda. The Democrats need to hit them hard on these points- it’s a winning strategy.