John Turner – State of the environment

In this video we hear from the wonderful Mr. John Turner who is talking to us about the current state of the environment. Mr. Turner talks to us about the immediate imbalance that we are faced with on earth at the moment. He talks to us about the energy balance that we have here in the mother city.

Now Mr Turner has used the example of the Monkey valley resort and how this is one of the few places where the energy balance is about correct. He explains that we in Cape Town are sitting on 30% of our energy storage capacity. In addition Mr. Turner talks about air and how we have all kinds of pollution in the atmosphere, which is upsetting all life systems, that are dependent on a narrow range of frequencies. He adds that we are the unhealthiest generations to have ever existed.

John explains that we are caught in a lifestyle culture that is extremely unhealthy yet nobody is prepared to step up and really make a tangible difference. With such a vast population all over the world and this number only growing, John explains that the ability for a massive disease to grow and spread is greater than ever. Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of Earth. Overpopulation is caused by number of factors. Reduced mortality rate, better medical facilities, depletion of precious resources are few of the causes, which results in overpopulation.

Moreover John addresses the issue of drought and how we are going to face what the Ukraine is calling the “long draught” which mean it wont end for a very long time. Mr. Turner tells us how we are also stuck in food production mentality, which assumes we have to have an industrial monster to produce food. This John insists is a complete fallacy and we have lost a few indigenous populations that were producing a great and sufficient quantity of food for their population. We have lost some brilliant examples world wide of communities that were very productive and efficient. The trouble is with most environment ones needs a remedial process because the sea is so damaged. The seas around the coast of Cape Town have been warning people that we are losing our biodiversity for many years John says. He adds that we have a kind of entropy that’s taking place o the oceans that has profound implications.

Entropy is defined as a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system’s thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system. When there is an upset in the equilibrium of the oceans biodiversity it means we lose sea life. This is a massive issue when different microsystems require one another to survive and the usual systems of the small fish eating the big fish start to break down. Mr Turner tells us that we should have listened to the alarm bells that were sent to us many times. Now we have ignored the paleontology for too long and we are suffering the consequences of being quiet.

John also discusses the question of what is wrong with our water situation. Mr Turner says that the government and people of Cape Town must have a great deal more reverence. He means by having deep seeded respect for the water production and the ecosystem that provides it must be looked after with far greater care. John talks about how the Americas have done a huge amount of damage to the oceans. Mr. Turner tells us that the Americas have affected the whole globe because of the hot dirty water that comes from the Americas and that has gone up to the Gulf Stream and is melting the ice. The lack of conscientiousness from the America has created suffering for the world over and its usually because of the endless chase for profit. Can we reverse the damage caused by humans or are we stuck in a never-ending state of mitigation for damages we humans caused to the mother earth.

To finish Mr. Turner tells us about how the problem of ego has ultimately caused the gradual decline of the world and the environment. Take for example Mr. Donald Trump and his massive ego and how he has caused massive issues globally with his sweeping statements and utter love for himself. He has been a known climate change denier and even took America out of the parries agreement, which could be one of the most damaging moves in history. All of this is because of his ego. The narcissistic personality disorder has been know to be present in many of the world’s leaders and is without a doubt the most damaging effect on the world’s health.

No one knows how much warming is “safe”. What we do know is that climate change is already harming people and ecosystems. Its reality can be seen in melting glaciers, disintegrating polar ice, thawing permafrost, changing monsoon patterns, rising sea levels, changing ecosystems and fatal heat waves.

Scientists are not the only ones talking about these changes. From the apple growers in Himachal to the farmers in Vidharbha and those living in disappearing islands in the Sunderbans are already struggling with the impacts of climate change.

But this is just the beginning. We need to act to avoid catastrophic climate change. While not all regional effects are known yet, here are some likely future effects if we allow current trends to continue.

Links: http://soer.deat.gov.za/State_of_the_Environment.html , https://www.powerofpositivity.com/9-signs-youre-letting-ego-run-life/ , http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/What-We-Do/Stop-Climate-Change/Climate-Impacts/

By Alex Mitchson