We mostly know Einstein as the discoverer of relativity. His image has even come to represent 'intelligence'. Though, rarely do we hear so much about his social, political or philosopical views. Here is a little essay he wrote in his later years that I wish to share with you.
Peace,
Grant
The World as I see it
"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...
"I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.
"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude...".
"This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man... I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence -- as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.".
The geopolitical ramifications of climate change are not commonly discussed in the main stream media or anywhere for that matter. The one exception I know is a new book by Gwynne Dyer, a Canadian author, historian and documentary film-maker who now lives in London, UK. His book Climate Wars is now available, published by Random House, but if you want a good summary of the book, you can check out his 3 part series on Climate Wars that was broadcast by CBC Radio in Canada on the program, Ideas . It is available on his website: www.gwynnedyer.com. Or, here:
The real risk of climate change, is not a few degrees of average warming, in and of itself, it is the positive feedback mechanism that is inherent in this increase. Principally, somewhere between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius warming is believed to be enough to begin the release of permafrost-trapped methane in the Arctic, setting off this feedback mechanism, at which point we have lost any real control over how to affect warming trends. Remember, methane is some 30 times more potent as a greenhouse gas as is carbon dioxide. At this point, all bets are off as to how fast warming may proceed. In that sense, it may actually be better to burn the methane for energy usage and convert it into carbon dioxide, than to let it enter the atmosphere as methane. Unfortunately, that option is out because the methane is trapped in the ice. Moreover, it is dispersed throughout the Arctic in very low concentrations. So, our best option to prevent the release of more methane is to prevent the permafrost from melting in the first place. This is totally possible. The ability and the technology is all there to generate energy more sustainably and to collectively power-down and live more locally. Estimates range from only 10-20 years until we reach the 'point of no return' in terms of CO2 output. If that happens, our only solution (if one even exists... and remember that sometimes problems may not even have achievable solutions) may be a technological one... injecting sulfur-dioxide into the atmosphere, for example, to reflect more sunlight. But, we have to be cautious about such an approach, even if it were possible. The side-affects may be worse than the advantages. The pre-cautionary principle is ever-important in cases like this.
So, what will be the outcome of increased warming trends in climate (not weather; the two are not the same)? Well, in addition to more extreme weather events due to increased evaporation, there is the effect that warming will have on food production. Right now, we live in a society that operates on the basis of just-in-time delivery of food. Hungry? Just go to the store and buy a banana from the tropics. I love bananas and they are indeed rich in potassium, but they can't be grown in Europe or North America, so I don't think I will have the privilege of eating them should the global shipments of food cease due to geopolitical tensions or oil shortages. Personally, I have started a long-term food storage facility in the basement consisting of canned and bottled goods and dried grains such as pastas and rice. I hope that I can mitigate future discomforts caused by food shortages. But I hold no illusions that this is a permanent solution on its own. Food production must return to being grown more locally and seasonally. Should food production decrease in some areas due to droughts or floods or plagues, humans may try to usurp others' agricultural lands. After all, food is a basic human need.
There are four actions/consequences that could happen based on how we make collective and personal decisions. How we prepare for the future is up to us. 1) If we prepare well, and nothing amounts to climate change (unlikely), then what have we lost? 2) If we prepare well and climate change effects are at some level of severity, then we should give ourselves a pat on the back. 3) If we don't prepare and nothing amounts to climate change, then... status quo. 4) If we don't prepare and climate change effects are at some level of severity, then there will be some level of negative consequences. The future is (partly) up to us.
Peace,
Grant
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