Causes: 1 used mobile phone + 4 pieces of thrown out red meat + 1 dumped artificial Xmas tree + 6 items of poor quality clothing that end up in the garbage after six months… = 1 portion of CLIMATE CHANGE
Causes: 1 teaspoon of salt + 1 teaspoon of salt + 1 teaspoon of salt… Then multiply that by hundreds of thousands of people and you create a massive mountain of salt… it’s little by little that us humans cause climate change. This is a mountain of salt near Slanic in Romania. Slanic means ‘salt’ in Slavic. (click for photo credit)
Last post we looked at climate conditions through one powerful contributor: hurricanes. And we very briefly discussed the wallop such a climatic behemoth carries and the damage it causes. We could’ve talked about the clout of the sun, lightning, rain, floods… all of them are synonymous with sheer power, brute force. Each one, considered as a local weather phenomenon, can have considerable impact and causes considerable drama. Man in 99.9999% of circumstance is a powerless weakling facing such formidable forces, be they for his benefit or detriment. Humans simply cannot control the forces of nature.
On the other hand, when we evoke ‘climate change’ we now know for sure that man is a good part, if not the better part, of the origin of this massive regular world conference calling crisis.
The question is: how can puny humans ‘be the causes of ‘climate change’ of an earth encompassing phenomenon so vast and powerful as ‘climate conditions’?
I mean, when you really think about it, it’s like dumping a teaspoon of salt on the ground. It’s ludicrous to think that humans can affect global weather conditions!
And yet, humans have and are doing just that. They are one of the primary causes of this catastrophe.
And you know, our dumb analogy of a teaspoon of salt on the ground isn’t so dumb after all.
If 7,000,000,000 people put 7,000,000,000 teaspoons of salt on the ground in the same place once a day… or once an hour over a few years! It all begins with one teaspoonful, or one plastic bag and one person and little by little grows until it reaches exponential levels. It grows at a rate that’s off the charts.
By the way, California is the first State in the USA to ban ‘single use’ plastic bags.
Man beat the ozone hole problem
We hear climatologists talking about how mankind has beaten the ‘hole in the ozone layer’ (a breach in Earth’s biosphere cocoon allowing the penetration of nauseous sunrays that harm life on earth). The big touted cause of the ozone problem was Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in ‘spray cans’ which we were squirting, one squirt at a time MULTIPLIED BY dozens of times a day MULTIPLIED BY the number of different cans (deodorant, insecticide, cleaner…) MULTIPLIED BY the number people. You see, those teaspoons do add up to a mountainous problem.
One of the major reasons mankind brought a halt to this situation isn’t because individuals made conscious decisions to change their habits. It’s because the FEW companies that produced all these sprays saw how they could help the environment and switched to more environmentally friendly products. It gave them the opportunity to market something new… which the public snaps up especially if, on top of it, they’re told it will help the environment.
But it proves the veracity of the ‘climate change’ equation:
a spoonful + a spoonful + a spoonful = a little + a little + a little = a mound + a mound + a mound = a hill + a hill + a hill = a mountain + a mountain + a mountain = climate change = a right mess.
At the climate conferences talk is on a global scale, they point fingers at governments and industry but, when you think about it… all those organizations are made of human individuals who is EACH emitting individual carbon emissions.
Did you know that the 99th percentile of global annual family income is incredibly low by Western standards: roughly $33,000 per year. Many of them and certainly the one percentile of families earning above that are adding teaspoonful after teaspoonful to the carbon greenhouse mountain.
Here are some ‘teaspoonfuls’:
- Homes, residences and offices that are energy guzzlers.
We could put on a sweater instead of turning the heat up. I admit, one of my pet peeves is buildings (including hotels) where you can’t open the window for some fresh air, instead you’ve got air conditioning running all day… and night. - Home and office equipment
Somewhat higher priced appliances come with better quality and better efficiency for use of water and power. Over the long haul, this makes a difference in personal expenses, not to mention longer life for the appliance and more carbon offsetting. - Public Transport, walking and cycling
What happened to village life, where we could meet and chat together in the town square? Again, I’m not talking about a return to the past, this is just common socialization. - Re-cycling, re-use and ‘don’t need it’ purchases
How many items do we have stored in the attic or garage that we used once or never? What do we just trash instead of offering it to a local association equipped for giving it a new home? - Buying local produce
Did you know that we ‘fly in’… literally plane-loads of roses from Kenya to Holland every day and from there they’re redistributed throughout Europe. Sure, it’s nice to have roses… but think about having them year round rather than locally IN SEASON.
I’m not trying to tell you how to run your lives. I’m just trying to show you the relationship between individuals and climate change. Each single human being, now 7,000,000,000 strong (that’s not a drop in the ocean or… a teaspoon of salt), together a humongous pack of avid people trying to get our hands on a little portion of ‘carbon’… No, that’s true we don’t want ‘carbon’… but we sure want what it produces when we release carbon into the atmosphere.
It’s this exponential growth that has brought climate change. It is the ‘power of billions’ of humans that is now a match for the environment of the Earth. Not only is it a match, but it is indeed overpowering Mother Nature herself.
The Explanation will keep you informed on behind-the-scenes developments and, in future episodes, show how this all ties in with our worldview puzzle. It is another piece in the story of Earth’s atmosphere. Why does humanity have to go through these mind-boggling global problems? Join the mailing list in the right column.
Please add your comments below as to how you specifically see mankind either contributing to or trying to turn the ‘climate change’ situation around.
Dig Deeper into The Explanation
Join The Explanation Newsletter to stay informed of updates. and future events. No obligations, total privacy, unsubscribe anytime, if you want.
Online Study Courses to Unlock Bible meaning via Biblical Hebrew… with no fuss. Free video courses that put you in the driver’s seat to navigate the Bible as never before. Join now
The Explanation series of seven books. Free to read online or purchase these valuable commentaries on Genesis 1-3 from your favorite book outlet. E-book and paperback formats are available. Use this link to see the details of each book and buy from your favorite store.
Since you read all the way to here… you liked it. Please use the Social Network links just below to share this information from The Explanation, Your (and my) WASTE causes CLIMATE CHANGE