Below are a series of historical turning points where scientists of one stripe or another have outlined problems for our planet that we have become newly aware of. The fact that each of these turning points have been recognized before the previous set have been addressed suggests to me a succession that illustrates the inexorable deconstruction of the habitability of our planet. Taken as a group they also suggest a collective cognitive dissonance whereby we separate ourselves from this process and act as passive observers who have nothing at stake in the game.
1 1798 Malthus publishes An Essay on the Principle of Population
2 1896 Svante Arrhenius proposes an early model of the greenhouse effect.
3 1961 Charles Keeling develops the Keeling Curve identifying rising CO2 levels as contributing to global warming.
4 1962 Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring spotlighting the dangers of pesticides.
5 1968 Paul Ehrlich publishes The Population Bomb
6 1972 The Club in Rome issues a report on The Limits To Growth.
7 Present Rising sea levels; IPCC, numerous assessments
8 2006 First report on bee Colony Collapse Disorder
9 2008 Journal of Marine Science “Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes”
10 2009 NASA scientist James Hansen publishes Storms of My Grandchildren, predicting increasing numbers of extreme weather events.
11 2013 German Krefeld report on “insect apocalypse”. Huge Insect biomass decline.
12 2022 European rivers running dry, drought and wildfires spreading world wide. Numerous studies.
Wake up. Pay attention. Act as if your life depends on it. It does.