The Bell Tolls for the Planet

The Arctic University of Norway reported “that melting glaciers in the Arctic are releasing substantial amounts of methane into the atmosphere.” This will exacerbate climate chaos. Methane is 20 times more potent than CO2. The Arctic glaciers will release more methane as temperatures continue to rise and more glaciers melt. Phantom Ecology reported the Antarctic is also releasing methane. A massive release of methane means “rapid and catastrophic climate change.” It “could trigger rapid and extreme global warming… pushing the climate system past tipping points.” Irreversible global warming would create “a ‘hothouse’ Earth.” Space.com reported, “a runaway greenhouse effect can rapidly transform a habitable planet into a hellish world inhospitable to life.”
The Financial Times reported, “The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at its highest point in 800,000 years.” Humans burning fossil fuels “led to intensified storms and weather-related disasters, with at least 151 ‘unprecedented’ extreme weather events in 2024.” NASA’s Nimbus-7 satellite confirmed “the total amount of sea ice on the planet reached an all-time low.” NASA’s satellite also revealed a record rise in sea levels. “The ocean continues to rise, and the rate of rise is getting faster and faster.” The Australian Antarctic Research Conference reported, “Runaway ice loss causing rapid and catastrophic sea-level rise is possible within our lifetimes.” The East Antarctic Ice Sheet “holds enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 50 metres (164 feet) if completely melted. Implications for our coastal cities and infrastructure are immense.” Even for the coastal community of Oswego, NY.
Paul Hawkens said “We don’t have a climate crisis; the climate cannot have a crisis. We are the crisis.” Our capitalist system and institutional choices are the root cause of climate catastrophe. The elite ruling class understand this. In 2016, our billionaire-in-chief tried to build a seawall around his golf resort in Ireland. Politico captured the absurdity: “Trump acknowledges climate change — at his golf course.” Yet, in the pursuit of profit, the administration signed executive orders to increase the mining of the dirtiest fossil fuel— coal. The administration cut the staff and funds of the National Climate Assessment. The administration wants to eliminate scientific research at NOAA. The head of the E.P.A., Lee Zeldin, wants to fire 1,155 scientists and slash the EPA’s budget.
The majority of the population will suffer as the wealthy fight to eliminate any regulation on profit accumulation. It’s by design. The CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, admitted this in a Financial Times article. “The unspoken assumption is that capitalism didn’t work.” But, in fact, “Capitalism did work — just for too few people.” The Nation explained capitalism’s success for a few elites in a quote by Orlando Letelier. “Concentration of wealth is no accident, but a rule.” Time Magazine wrote, over the last forty years, “The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90%.” The rule is the rich plunder the poor, even as the bell tolls for the planet.

Anton Porcari

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