It seems that every time I go to facebook, or read the news on the Internet, or watch it on TV, there are more and more advocates trotting out reasons why Climate Change is a myth – why it isn’t really happening, or why it isn’t a serious threat. Despite decades of warnings and reams of scientific data, commentators say we’re just witnessing normal changes in weather, or cycles of the sun, or any number of other denier favourites. Climate Change has become a lightning rod, a symbol of the ‘elite’ trying to con ordinary citizens (of which, in fact, I am one) into false beliefs.

Climate Change is real, and the Climate Change deniers are liars, every single one of them. They’re not just mistaken, they’re deliberately lying. Why would anyone do that? Because they’re worried that the changes to our way of life required to combat Climate Change will interfere with their ability to make money. And guess what – on this, they are correct. But here’s the thing – even if by some miracle it was proven that the world wasn’t getting warmer, or that the change wasn’t that serious, or that it wasn’t due to human production of CO2, we would still be in the midst of an existential emergency.

I hate to burst the apologists’ balloons, but Climate Change is only one of many existential threats being inflicted on our planet by our over-consumptive civilization. Here are some more:

Mass Extinction – this hasn’t directly impacted us yet (other than the tragic loss of many of Earth’s beautiful creatures), but it will. We are dependent on the other lifeforms on this planet to live ourselves.Deforestation – plants and trees are critically important to all life on Earth. Among other things, they generate that oxygen that we breathe. And breathing is important.Over-fishing – this is related to threat #1, in that eventually it will severely deplete all life in the sea. No life in the sea, no life for us.Plastic-filled Oceans – as above.Air, water, and soil pollution – Breathing problems and medical issues will continue to increase, not only for us, but for all life on Earth.Oil Scarcity – As of this moment, the Permian basin in the USA is the last remaining major source of oil that hasn’t peaked. And it’s expected to peak by the end of this decade. From then on, as in a deadly game of musical chairs, governments will be fighting each other for this constantly dwindling resource, a resource that not everybody will be able to have. So-called ‘renewables’ can power some kind of civilization, but certainly not the one we’re living in now.Resource Scarcity – oil isn’t the only thing becoming scarce. Natural gas, phosphoros, coal, even water, face severe scarcity in the near future.Soil Depletion – the soil of most of the world’s farms has lost much of its ability to support crops. It is currently heavily supplemented with fertilizers made with Ammonia – a product created primarily from – guess what? Natural Gas.And of course, Climate Change.

There are actually many more threats, the above is only a list of some the most important ones. So here’s a message for those who cling to the belief that if they can somehow ‘prove’ that Climate Change is a myth, everything will be fine – it won’t.

We’ll still be headed for disaster.

One final note – arguing about whether or not we should make the required changes to our civilization is actually moot. Why? Because these changes are going to happen, whether we make them or not. The only question is whether we proactively make them ourselves, or whether we bury our heads in the sand until Mother Nature does it for us. If we choose to do it, we can probably engineer some kind of soft landing. If we wait, the result could be catastrophic.

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Steve Silver Smith | Dreamstime.com