Opinions of Peter Belmont
Speaking Truth to Power
| ASA tackles Israeli apartheid; now what about climate change? |
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by Peter A. Belmont / 2013-12-22
I regard the Israeli occupation, with its settlements and apartheid character, an abomination and human-rights disaster. I am not alone. But What About Climate Change? This is to the good. But it makes me wonder. Israel’s human-rights violations are very important to many people, much including myself, but they are small potatoes in the human-rights-violations game when compared to the unprecedented crime against humanity which once merely threatened and now promises to wipe out all animal life on earth—climate change—described in apocalyptic terms here and here. I imagine that ASA has not acted as vigorously on climate change, although it seems to have organized a conference on it. Other organizations with the abbreviated name ASA have at least considered Climate Change, although none that I can see has called for quick and drastic action to counter it.[1][2][3] Israeli human-rights violations of Palestinians will not cease until there is [1] enough international “sunlight” on them (the facts) and [2] enough calls for action against the cause, Israeli policies and practices and societal thinking. ASA’s boycott action serves both of these purposes. As to climate change, let no one imagine that the threats of an extremely dire future for the planet (and thus for humankind) will dissipate until there is [1] enough international “sunlight” on them (the facts) and [2] enough calls for action against the cause, the continued burning of fossil fuels and venting of certain gasses, especially methane — whether from animal husbandry, bad management of gas-drilling operations, melting of arctic permafrost and sub-oceanic methane beds, or otherwise. The doom descends upon us whether ASA acts on it or not, whether I rail against it or not. But it is a more severe doom because it threatens us all: there can be no human rights without human beings. I entreat the good folks at ASA, and elsewhere, to become educated on climate change. You don’t need to be a scientist to do so. Read this too, where Bill McKibben parodies those who claim Climate Change is a Hoax. ----------- [1] American Statistical Association: The American Statistical Association (ASA) recently convened a workshop of leading atmospheric scientists and statisticians involved in climate change research. The goal of this workshop was to identify a consensus on the role of statistical science in current assessments of global warming and its impacts. Of particular interest to this workshop was the recently published Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), endorsed by more than 100 governments and drawing on the expertise of a large portion of the climate science community. ----------- [2] American Sociological Associations: Therefore, in August of 2010 the Council of the American Sociological Association approved the formation of a task force on Sociology and Global Climate Change, and charged that group to produce a report applying a sociological analysis to the issue of climate change, and making a series of public policy recommendations based on that analysis. ----------- [3] American Society of Agronomy:The significance of climate change to the practice of agriculture, soils, and land management has led the 10,000-plus members of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) to develop a position statement on climate change, based on a review of current scientific knowledge and understanding. |
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