As always, big global issues were on the UN General Assembly's agenda. met in new york city this month. The theme of the session was Collaboration for “Advancing Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity for Current and Future Generations.”
This was a reminder that big aspirations should be on the agenda for political candidates who want to drive public policy in the United States. Issues such as immigration and the economy are getting plenty of attention. But the candidates are saying nothing about the most important issue facing voters this November: America's continued assault on natural capital, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
State and federal governments are constantly being called upon to treat society's infectious diseases and broken bones, but they cannot be distracted by short-term problems and turn their attention away from metastatic cancer. It is the poisoning, abuse, and destruction of the ecosystems on which our lives, our descendants, and other species depend.
Even climate change doesn't get enough attention to merit a vote. According to a Yale University poll on climate change communication, two-thirds of Americans are concerned about climate change and think Congress should do more to address it. But climate change deniers still dominate the Republican Party. 123 members of the Diet and the republican presidential candidate.
there are no republicans Congress voted in favor of the Inflation Control Act, the largest investment in pollution-free energy in the nation's history. nevertheless 85 percent of investment and 68 percent of employment. The bill created by this act was sent to Republican districts as of August 16th, and Congressional Republicans voted on it. 51 times to abolish it.
Tony Leizerowitz, director of the Yale University Center, says of the poll: show“At every level of government…officials are significantly underestimating the level of support[for climate action]from their own voters.” Candidates need to talk about this.
But climate change is only part of the problem.
Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum asked around 1,500 global government and civil society leaders to identify the world's most significant risks over the next 10 years. of The top four were all environmental.
1st place is abnormal weather (climate change). Next in order are changes in the earth system, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem collapse, and scarcity of natural resources. All of these are considered more threatening than war, terrorist attacks, social polarization, economic downturn, and nuclear disaster.
These threats affect the United States in a variety of ways. Although sea level rise is noticeable on America's coasts, we don't hear much about rising water levels in the Great Lakes. These are the largest ice-free freshwater lakes on Earth. Rising water levels put property, infrastructure, ecosystems and livelihoods at risk. 4,500 miles of coastline Along with Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo, New York.
America has more than that. 250,000 inland rivers flowing over 3 million miles. A national water quality survey in 2013 found that: 55 percent Biological status was poor, with 23% having only “fair” status.
The ocean mostly contributes $480 billion and 2.4 million jobs to the US economy. Scientists report that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels in the United States. second largest Source — on the brink of Destroying the ocean food chain. Science has identified nine planetary systems necessary to support life. Civilization has already forced six people into a “dangerous operating space.” Oceans will be in 7th place.
more 40% of natural landscapes Missing in mainland United States Analysis by NatureServe Last year, 34 percent of plants and 40 percent of animals in the United States were found to be at risk of extinction. More than 40 percent of the country's ecosystems are at risk of widespread collapse.
Loss of biodiversity degrades ecosystems that provide countless benefits to nations. Loss of genetic diversity impairs agricultural productivity and important ecosystem services. For example, nature is about half of modern medicine.
the study Published in Nature Communications predicts that ecosystem services in the United States will decline between 2020 and 2100 due to population pressures and land use changes. As always, nonwhites, low-income people, and urban residents will bear a disproportionate burden of the consequences.
Much of the world's biodiversity resides in soil, but some scientists argue that we know more about soil. Martian soil than anything on earth.
Loss of topsoil threatens food production. The Midwest's “breadbasket'' has been lost. 57 billion tons of topsoil Over the past 160 years. a Research will be published in 3 years It was previously determined that 35 percent of the Corn Belt, from Ohio to Nebraska, has permanently lost its topsoil. It takes nature 500 to 1,000 years to create one inch of topsoil.
Reduced water supplies also affect food production. Aquifers that supply 90 percent of America's water systems and irrigate “some of the world's richest agricultural land” are under threat, a report said. New York Times series last year. “These economic declines threaten to cause irreparable damage to America's economy and society as a whole,” the Times reported.
14 The states are: High risk of water shortage within the next 25 years. Already more than 2 million Americans Lack of access to clean drinking water At home; more than 1 million people don't have the plumbing necessary to flush a toilet. Recent inspections have shown that the water supply system is inadequate; 44 million people Violated the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Water shortages reportedly cost US economy $8.58 billion annually Labor and productivity are lost, household incomes are reduced, and health care costs increase. As always, these issues disproportionately impact low-income households.
Additionally, water conflicts seen elsewhere in the world could occur in the United States. CNN coverage“A water war is looming between Mexico and the United States” as a severe drought prevents Mexico from meeting its obligations under the agreement. Treaty 80 years ago send water to America
Although the World Economic Forum study did not mention them, government subsidies threaten the environment by underwriting activities that weaken, sicken, impoverish, and make the biosphere and the life forms within it less safe. Contributing to Earth Track, a US organization that monitors government subsidies, estimates that environmentally harmful subsidies around the world total at least $2.6 trillion annually; Most are turning to fossil fuels, leading to practices such as overproduction that are harmful to agriculture and water resources.
These are some of the big problems driving metastasis today. Those who want to determine American policy should work on it.
William S. BeckerHe is executive director of the President's Climate Action Project and a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy.
