CLIMATE DISRUPTION IS ACCELERATING ANTHROPOGENIC EXTINCTIONS ALONG THE IRREVERSIBLE ROAD TO PLANETARY BIOCIDE

A large fraction of both terrestrial and freshwater species faces increased extinction risk under projected climate change in the 21^st century (IPCC). As emphasized by Mark Urban, we are now reaching a threshold for the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. Extinction risks from climate change are expected not only to increase but to accelerate for every degree rise in global temperatures. Cousineau warns “climate change will be responsible for the mass extinction of species.” Urban agrees, “we urgently need to adopt strategies that limit further climate change if we are to avoid an acceleration of global extinctions.”

Recent reputable polls, however, document widespread public mistrust of science, especially the realities of anthropogenic global warming. Citizen disdain for evidence-based knowledge and the methods of science are problematic in the extreme. As I previously emphasized (2010), an informed, rational, and responsible citizenry is essential to the survival of democracy. This foundation of our free society is currently being undermined by a pervasive propaganda campaign to discredit scholarship and reason and to elevate uninformed opinion and partisan parroting to a level of equal validity and credibility in public discourse.

The most effective counter-strategy is direct and clear presentation of science. But the paramount imperative is that citizens be advocates of reason. As we continue to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the extraordinary scientific and engineering achievement we called “a giant leap for mankind,” let us now confidently address our planetary climate crisis before it becomes irreversible and threatens not only exacerbation of Earth’s sixth great extinction but the eventual end of life as we know it on Earth, planetary biocide. More than 70 medical and public health organizations recently issued a call to action on climate change (June 25), calling it the "greatest public health challenge of the 21st century." Let this be a call to action not just for geoscientists, scientists, educators and scholars, but for all who recognize and respect the unique humanizing value of objective intellectual enterprise and its effective communication. Knowledge is indeed power. It is what distinguishes our species and endows us with the stewardship of planet Earth.