Over the past 5 years, science confirming the human causes of climate change, has become incontrovertible. And week by week the catastrophic consequences of that climate change are manifesting themselves. Within 50 years there will probably no longer be an Arctic ice cap in summer, and years before that there will be no polar bears. 70% of all people alive today will still be alive by 2050, and so will see such changes. And by then, unless we take strong action to limit climate change, the oceans will have begun rising by 12 feet or more.
This scientific certainty and rising damage bill elevates the debate about the climate change from the merely political to the moral, and that has enormous implications for every individual on Earth. Most of all, however, it represents a growing liability for all of those involved in the polluting industries. To but it bluntly, human emitted greenhouse gases are becoming the new asbestos.
The analogy with asbestos is striking. We are now seeing the children of asbestos workers succumbing to mesothelioma, a lung disease only caused by asbestos, up to 50 years after their parents began working in the industry. Asbestos pollution is thus blighting lives down through generations, and those involved in the industry are feeling increased financial and moral pain with each passing year. Likewise, much of the CO2 the polluting industries release into the atmosphere today will still be in the atmosphere a century from now, damaging the environment and killing people yet to be born. But this is a far greater problem than asbestos ever was.
While some company directors of corporations with large carbon liabilities are only now realizing that those liabilities will haunt them to the grave, the great mass of people are yet to realize their individual responsibilities. I suspect that, just as my generation asked our fathers what they did in the war, so our children will be asking my generation what we did about climate change. They may even remember being ferried about in those large cars, or the homes cluttered with inefficient electronic gadgetry. Within just a few years I'm sure that many of us will hear that question asked.
And of course the answer should be so simple. I'd like us to be able to say that we did everything in our power to secure their future. That would include honoring the simple, time tested principal of getting the polluters to pay. That's how we've solved most of our pollution problems over the years, and at base this is just another air pollution problem. A carbon tax or carbon trading scheme would only strengthen our economies by unleashing a tidal wave of innovation. And it would fix the problem. Because of the deadly failure of leadership on this issue from the top in the US, we all need to become leaders. Next time you buy a motor vehicle you can make a huge difference, because trading in an SUV for a hybrid can cut your emissions by 70%. Every purchase from light globes to apples (especially if they're freighted long distances) has a carbon implication. And if you run a company you can achieve much more. But most of all, it is the lazy recipient of democracy who will have the hardest time answering their children's questions. Because the problem is now so urgent, we will go a long way towards deciding the Earth's fate this November. So get active in politics, or at least think carefully about your vote.