We define as having criminal intent any person who calculates that there is a definite possibility their actions will result in harm to others. Equally, we define as criminally negligent anyone who is aware that an individual is likely to harm others but who ignores the situation. In the not-too-distant future will politicians who intentionally ignore global climate change, or who obstruct action to implement conscientious policies to prevent deterioration of climate conditions, be deemed criminally negligent? The scale of death and destruction resulting from global warming may potentially exceed losses due to genocides and world wars. We need discussion of legal and moral accountability for gross negligence when it comes to destruction at this level.
Given the tools at our disposal to measure the adverse climate impact of human behavior and the overwhelming consensus of climate scientists about the causes of global warming any conscious choice to deny it and refuse to take action must be considered extremely risky behavior and, I believe, criminal negligence.
As record-breaking floods, fires, and drought affect more regions of the world, the risk of not just more loss of life but massive and sustained loss of life becomes statistically inevitable. How any one of us responds to the risk of harm to others defines whether we are morally clear or morally clouded. Here is a simple analogy about our moral and legal responsibility for taking risks:
You take little Jenny to school and you are met by the principal who says his electrician tells him the school's electrical wiring is old and faulty and there is significant chance it will overheat in places and cause a fire. The principal, who has no expertise in inspecting wiring, says the electrician doesn't know what he is talking about. Any school official or parent who knowingly sent their child into that school would be held criminally negligent if it caught fire.
The same is true for climate change; we have to make morally coherent choices based on the information currently available to us if we don't want to be held accountable as accessories to what may be the crime of the century.
The Pentagon, acting in a responsible way, has done its own scenario planning for very large-scale social and political chaos arising from climate change disruptions. The military knows you pay attention to risk. But our government and so many others have drifted into an immoral paralysis on this issue.
I write and teach about human rights and global peacebuilding and it's very clear when governments are responsible for crimes against humanity. It is becoming increasingly clear that climate disruptions are going to increase global conflicts over resources, food and water, and create climate refugees. Global warming will destroy any chances of global peace. In international law we have established an international criminal court and war crimes tribunals to try those found guilty of crimes against humanity. But who will be held accountable for inaction on global warming and how will they be brought to justice?
Follow James O'Dea on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jamesodea
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2012/07/momcoms-mass-suicide-murder-pact-5.html
CO2-free nuclear power is the only known large-scale way to slash CO2 emissions and replace coal, oil, and gas, with clean energy.* Therefore, those who stand in the way of nuclear power are commting genocidal crimes against humanity, and should be sentenced to death, or life without parole.
*Solar only works when the sun shines. Wind only works when the wind blows. Nuclear works all the time.
Sigh. Same old same old disinformation.
http://www.examiner.com/article/baltimore-city-weather-station-artificially-heated-by-solar-panels-and-more?cid=db_articles
We might need discussions if there really was Anthropological Global Warming. Since AGW is bogus, we need to hold members of IPCC, Al Gore, James Hansen, Michael Mann, et-al, for their massive fraud against all of mankind.
Who gains, who stays in power, who becomes richer?
Why is it so easy for you to ignore the human suffering caused by climate change, right now around the world?
Go outside and experience nature. Every day around the world you can find examples of climate change. Maybe if you grew your own garden you would experience the affects yourself.
Ask yourself why do you stand on the side of big oil and the Koch brothers?
They will not be standing up for you!
You can believe what you want, but when we have no grain to eat remember whose side of the issue you stood on.
Three important articles to read.
Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine
www.greenpeace.org
Global Warming's Terrifying New Math | Politics News | Rolling Stone
www.rollingstone.com
Three simple numbers that add up to global catastrophe - and that make clear who the real enemy is
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/opinion/the-conversion-of-a-climate-change-skeptic.html?smid=fb-sh
www.nytimes.com
Even Gore has at "earned" least $200 million, what would you do for $200 million??
Muller never was skeptical of AGW
Above post covers the money side.
Kris, you clearly view AGW as a ideology/religeon, and pay no notice of the science of AGW.
First there was the call to voluntary self sacrifice, which only helps destroy our economy, to the benefit of those who are outcompeting us by going the opposite direction, such as China for instance.
Now, this guy is suggesting that the politicians we ellect should go to prison if they don't agree to destroy our economy further, untill we switch places with the currently developing nations, who are already taking advantage of having lower environmental and worker protection standards to outcompete us, aside from the low wages.
If after rading this, you are still compeled to believe that the bought scientists are to blame for the lack of faith in the scientific evidence displayed by the masses on climate change, think again.
We need to come up with better solutions to this problem that actually make sense, unlike calls for voluntary self sacrifice, or criminal charges meant to bully politicians to sell out the future of their constituents to the competition.
http://zoltansustainableecon.blogspot.com/2012/07/climate-change-frozen-global-village.html
This must be destroyed, with extreme prejudice.
The 'crimes against humanity' argument should be based upon more direct culpability. Not the smoke stacks per se, but the Club of Rome's decree to eliminate people (belief in planetary limited carrying capacity). MONSANTO seems to perform this with a vengeance, creating GMO death, using it's billions to BUY POLITICIANS VOTES. Instead of vilifying the whole "government", how about let's find a face-name to every congressman who has voted with their pocketbook for frankenfoods, Roundup which directly kills or renders infertile farm animals and ourselves; fertilizers have made the soil barren, incapable of surviving drought instead of rebuilding soils with organics.
Shouldn't we look in the mirror; any of us who buy GMO corn support soil destruction;chemicals on the lawn, still births and bees colony collapse; "good" scientists supporting their families who work for Monsanto and Dow chemical etc....
YES -clean up, Mr. O' Dea, but let's all look beyond and to ourselves and each other for making hard choices in our own lifestyles.
Respectfully, Nancy Baumgarten, landscape architect, Mom who wants to see her child have children and raise a family in health and peace.