Climate Change Endangers Growth of the World Economy

By Franz Alt

[This article originally published in: Die Welt, August 14, 2003 is translated from the German on the World Wide Web, http://www.welt.de/daten/2002/08/14/0814wi350420.htx. Franz Alt, author and solar pioneer, is a director of Southwest German radio.]

The chief mathematician of the Munich insurance association summarizes reality more impressively than any eco-institute. If the damages of weather-caused natural disasters continue as in the past two decades, the climate-conditioned damages will be greater in 60 years - with an annual global economic growth of three percent – than the worldwide gross domestic product. When George W. Bush says “climate protection is too expensive for the US economy”, Klaus Topfer asks: “How expensive will it be if the climate is not protected?”

Apocalyptic Scenario

Climate change becomes the negative motor of the world economy. Klaus Topfer as head of the UN environmental agency and the International Red Cross pointed out that more people escaped the flood- and drought catastrophes than wars in 2000. The rich industrial states act like ecological aggressors agasinst the poor in the South.

Millions of data on glacier ice, the atmosphere, the coral reefs of Oceania and the rings of old trees signal an apocalyptic scenario for our planet’s climate if redirection resolved ten years ago by all governments at the Earth summit in Rio isn’t accepted at the Johannesburg earth summit.

The global temperature increase of 0.6 degrees Celcius since 1861 led to an intense reduction of ice- and snow masses. A glacier in Europe can hardly survive the temperature increase of up to 5.8 degrees predicted for this century.

The nineties of the 20th century was the hottest decade since the beginning of data collection in 1861. It is hotter today than ever before in the last 16,000 years.

The deserts of our planet are increasing by 30,000 hectares daily. Every day we lose 86 million tons of fruitful soil through erosion.

Daily we produce 100 million tons of greenhouse gases by burning coal, gas and oil. We burn in one day what nature created in 500,000 days. Every day we grow by a quarter of a million persons.

In the face of this data, the Bush administration admits that the greenhouse effect is man-made. However Washington will not sign the Kyoto Protocol even at the Earth summit in Johannesburg. The Kyoto Protocol only earmarks a reduction of a few percent in greenhouse gases. “Adjusting to climate change” is recommended in the 2002 climate report.

What can Europeans do? The only successful strategy is save energy, use energy more efficiently and develop rfenewable energies.

At least 20 million buildings in Germany must be energetically rehabilitated. This would mean a 50 percent decrease in the consumption of heating energy and create 300,000 jobs in the plagued construction industry.

The automobile economy that markets three-, two- and one liter cars on a large scale will boom worldwide. This is also true for the fuel cell car…

Unlimited Energy

The solar architect Rolf Disch in Freiburg sold the first solar-energy-plus houses that produce more energy with the help of the sun than is consumed in these energy-houses. Every homeowner becomes an energy-seller. Economy and ecology harmonize at last. These houses are not more expensive than conventional houses. Money is earned with the solar roof. The sun doesn’t send any bill.

Gasoline- and heating oil prices will also rise in the next decades on account of their limited supply, not only on account of the environmental strain. Sun, wind, geothermal energy, bio-gas, solar hydrogen, water power and the wave energy of the oceans are practically unlimited and available for all time. The sun alone sends us 15,000 times more energy daily than 6.2 billion presently consume. The solution to the energy- and climate problem is in the skies.

The corrupt patrons that installed bush and continue to fuel the lies and propaganda of the pentagon and military would sooner see millions of people starve to death and milllions more contract malaria than admit that their own lifestyles and riches are dooming the planet.

Ultimately this is happening because a gas industry lackey is in control of complex systems beyond his reach. impeach the imposter before more die.

Gee, but since we live HERE...ya'd think that might be a more PRACTICAL place to begin...

....but the US generates NO greenhouse gasses...so...Oh, we DO produce greenhouse gasses?

Hmm, then what's Josef talkin about?

The problem is American corporations...does not matter what India or China or other nations want or do. bush and his filthy liars have given carte blanche to american corps such as exxon/mobil to ignore any and all world treaties. As long as american political leadership says its ok for the most industrialized nation in the worlds corps to contine global warming, in nations such as China, India, etc. they will continue to do so.

So whether or not they are here or elsewhere american corps (and the US military) are the chief criminals of ecological crises including global warming.

Of course, disinformation is in full swing, and gullible corporate apologists will continue to sing their broken song and ignore the obvious until tropical diseases rampage towards the poles and ravage our nation, as storms batter us and the inner parts of continents become deserts. The end result will be hunger and more starvation. The cause of this is the psychopath in the white house who is really only a tool of these same transnational corps. By refusing to do anything he is sentencing humanity to a very difficult time and test.

BTW how much of the 600 page recently released EPA 'Draft report on the Envnmt" dealt with global wartming? One paragraph. Five more (only five?!?) were deleted by the white house.

Disinfomation and propaganda are nothing but lies, and they are the sermon this admin does with more arrogance than any other.

End the madness. Impeach the psychopath.

The sky is falling!

The sky is falling!

The sky is falling!

We might even miss Florida.

Consequence: sea-level rise

Current rates of sea-level rise are expected to increase as a result both of thermal expansion of the oceans and of partial melting of mountain glaciers and the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps. Consequences include loss of coastal wetlands and barrier islands, and a greater risk of flooding in coastal communities. Low-lying areas, such as the coastal region along the Gulf of Mexico and estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay, are especially vulnerable.

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/fcons.asp

Yah this global warming can be a real bummer. Just ask all my dinosaur relatives.

That damn Bush and Cheney - they made the Ice Age happen so they could kill off all my Dino-relatives and convert them into oil.

And then, after all the my dino compadres were dead, Bush and Cheny made all the ice melt so you furry mammals could take over our land and and and oohhhh it makes me so angry.

Got Wooly Mammoth?

silly anthropoids, we can wait a few million more centuries.
It will be quiet after you are gone. Webs will weave, smallings
will scamper there will be much feasting on flies.

fuck the grid, large corp. power producers and the service providers. You can install your own stand-alone 12volt system for everyday use, or backup.___^a basic knowledge of electricity is required^___

http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html

New species will evolve to fill the open niches.

It's a process that has been going on for

[carl segan voice ON]

"billions and billions of years"

[carl segan voiceOFF]

So get used to it.

http://www.efn.org/~lkuntz/links1.html

sure that'll work.

maybe you'll take the same approach in

your personal relationships.

just tell your kids to get used to mass extinction

that should put their minds at ease....

...aren't your strong points, are they?



The theory of evolution clearly indicates that a changing environment, which may cause the demise of some species, also drives the evolution of new species. It's called ADAPTATION.

Are you refuting Darwin's theory of the evolution of species?



My kids will do just fine - they know how to ADAPT to reality.

http://countercurrents.org/en-brown.htm

http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html

oh really - your children know how to evolve?

okay..

then i guess they won't

be needing any clean

water or air or anything.

they're lucky to have such an enlightened parent.

science and logic, hunh?

...through Superior Intelligence and Firepower

Were you around in the 60's? I was.

We made mistakes.

We made corrections. We Adapted.

Seen any burning rivers lately, Chicken Little?

As for competition for reproductive resources - including water, food, and habitat - the species with Superior Intelligence and Firepower wins.

Humans First! - Just Say NO! To Forced Altruism.

http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html

it's a good thing there's more sensible people around

sounds like, ummm , maybe...

did you do like a hell of a lot

of drugs? sorry -just wondering..

we're pretty critical of hippies here.

a lot of us are anarchists.

Yes, by all means let's adapt to increased ultraviolent radiation, radiated water and dust swirling through the air, tempertures which routinely go beyond 105, deserts taking over our best farmland, genetically modified crops, hormones and pesticieds in our food, and morons preaching poorly understood scientific principles for dollars and ideology. As long as one can continue to drive a SUV and ignore the wholescale murder of thousands of civilians in puppet states like Afgahanistan and Iraq (ooops...forgot that they were out and out US military failures)...than the american dream of blood and oil will continue to darken humanity's sightline and dreams for a survivable future.

Why don't you jump off the cliff first you paid shill (and if you are not paid than you must are obviously one of the glaring examples of our poorly designed education system). I am sure the masses of humanity will be right behind you.

...they taste kind of like chicken.

Roasted slowly, twisting over an open fire

Just kidding. From what I saw, most hippies were spoiled brats from the burbs who wanted an excuse to get stoned and piss off mummy and daddy - few leaders, mostly sheeple.

Kinda like these self proclaimed "anarchists". All hat and no cattle. Bouncing up and down in their caves err Raves, all strung out on "E".

Weishopf didn't die in "la revolution", did he?

He certainly did, however, encourage a whole bunch of sheeple to kill each other.

Who's pulling YOUR stirrings? You don't even have a clue that you're just pawns in the game.

Go ahead. Thin the Herd.

ummm... what are you talking about?!

you sound like a hippy yourself.

anarchists were around long before hippies,

by the way, you should study up..

and thinning the herd isn't the solution... you could thin 99% of the people out and you'd still have ecological disaster as long as the rich USA clowns keep living like they do.

learn a little.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/rt21/globalism/HARTMANNc1.html

when anarchy become the way of life we can all be equally as miserable as everyone else, i cant wait

"Who was Adam Weishopf", for 6

rrrrr wrote: "anarchists were around long before hippies,"

Yep, you got that right.

Go ahead rrrrr, tell the class about Adam Weishopf.

I understand he was quite the, um, "revolutionary" chap.

Pawns!