Armageddon In More Ways Than One

By Aidan Maconachy

People tend to think of Armageddon in the biblical context. A great war of the end times - cataclysmic and terminal. That scenario is of course a growing possibility with our entry into a second nuclear age. More countries than ever have the bomb, and some have even threatened to use it. The complicated spider’s web of proliferation these days makes the cold war stand-off between the US and Soviet Union seem almost pedestrian by comparison. The threat possibilities now are a lot more difficult to both predict and contain.

Arguably, an even greater threat than nuclear proliferation, is the rapidly deteriorating state of our global environment. Recently the eminent theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, spoke candidly about his concerns at the University of Cambridge. Hawking referred to the twin dangers of nuclear weapons and climate change, and called on governments to act now, because in his view without concerted and focused action the planet is in grave peril.

A spokesperson for BAS, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, that operates the so-called Doomsday Clock, warned that the environmental threat is as critical as the threat posed by nukes. Over the next two decades the world could be facing “irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival.”

Our lifestyle is at the root of the problem. Most people focus on the hazard of technologies and transportation but another factor relates to our modern agricultural practices. The huge livestock industry is proving to be a threat to biodiversity - polluting land and water resources and contributing to the greenhouse effect. Recent statistics indicate that livestock is responsible for 18% of gas emissions - higher than transportation which emits some 13.5%.

People often attribute this emission level to the livestock itself, but in fact the emissions are also caused by fertilizer and feed production, manure management methods and the vast tracts of land that have been deforested in order to create pastures. Livestock occupy 26% of the earth’s land surface, and the speed with which deforestation is taking place only adds to growing concerns. For example 70% of the land reclaimed in the Amazon region is now being used for raising livestock.

Developing nations such as China, are also a concern because they are on a technological fast-track. China has one fifth of the world’s population, so private energy consumption is a concern. It is also the world leader in coal production and the use of fossil fuel still plays a major role in its economy.

Despite Kyoto and dire warnings from scientists, politicians have been slow to respond to the growing threat posed by climate change. Are we sleep walking toward catastrophe? Some like Professor James Lovelock, in his book The Revenge of Gaia, argue that it may already be too late.