Reports have been popping up around the internet that the Amazon Rainforest could only have 40-50 years left before it turns into desert if something isn’t done to reverse or at least stop man-made damage asap.  (I put this in science because that’s usually where you see these reports on news sites.)  There are already major droughts happening that are wiping out villages that depend on waterway transportation.  The word was that nobody alive has ever seen it get this bad before.  I guess I’m cutting right to the chase here:  Is anyone else scared of the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into environmentally?  If the Amazon Rainforest goes, then that will be a major turning point in our relationship with the rest of the web of life.  What’s going to happen, then?  Or, will that be the case at all?  I hope not…

Edit:  Sorry, should have posted links…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_3092000/3092688.stm
http://earthrenewal.org/rainless.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/oct/02/conservation

I’m worried about our species too. All indicators point to a perfect storm converging on our planet within the century. Global Warming is happening faster than computer models predicted. Feeding our six billion-plus mouths is overtaxing the oceans and farmlands. We’ve burned through half our fossil fuels in a little more than 100 years, and are now left with an overpopulated planet dependent upon cheap oil for everything from food to transportation to medicine. So what do we do? We replace food crops with biofuel crops, we slash and burn the Amazon Rain Forest to make room for soy fields, and we go about our lives as if nothing is wrong.

What will happen? We cannot know for certain, but we do know that before cheap, abundant oil this planet supported only about 1/4 the present population. One way or another, sooner or later, we’ll get back down to that level. Population is the crux of the problem, and yet is a seemingly taboo topic when discussing Global Warming, Peak Oil and rainforest destruction. We have to control our population, for if we fail to do so our planet will do it for us, and then things will get very, very ugly.

A retired physicist friend and I met for lunch today and I mentioned this.  Since the Brazilian rain forest removes a great deal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this would exacerbate the effects of global warming.  We agreed that populations would probably migrate closer to the poles.  Loss of present farm lands would be replaced by other land that’s not presently used.  However, it would take at least a few years to make the changes.  Meanwhile there would be widespread famine. 

He wondered how the extremely wealthy, such as the owners of the oil companies, could be oblivious.  I suggested that they wouldn’t have the problems that most of the world would because they could build bio-domes where they could control the atmosphere and hire farmers, technicians and a small army.  However, I see three possible long term scenarios.  1)  The family restricts births to keep the population in the biodome constant.  2)  The the biodome population grows so they build additional biodomes.  3)  The biodome population grows so they try to take over someone else’s biodome. 

In addition the remaining world population would be envious so groups may attack the biodomes.  For example they could do this: two bazooka shots, one to blast open a panel and the second to fire nerve gas into the biodome through that opening. 

Occam  
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Your new conflicted world scenario came to mind when I saw this, but this guy paints a graver picture:

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/2007/11/most_terrifying_video_youll_ev.html

I’d say that’s a pretty damn tight argument.  Get this guy before congress with a white board!

Almost brilliant. Great argument, but he mixed up his rows and columns late in the video. Still, his argument is sound. How lucky do you feel? The possible consequences of doing nothing far outweigh the possible consequences of working to minimize global warming. Sadly, I see little reason to hope our various governments will do much other than fight over the very resources that are causing global warming.