Blowing Hot Air at Short-Term Capitalism

Posted on | May 22, 2007 | 1 Comment

Not paying attention to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming would not have been a great idea under even normal circumstances. But as it turned out, that moment of opportunity occurred at a time when carbonization of the planet’s atmosphere was reaching a critical point of self-escalation. Why? Because global warming is complex and one thing, well, leads to another.

Here’s one example. A study published by Dr. Corinne Le Quéré in the journal Science‘s Web edition details that the Earth’s southern oceans — the Southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans — have become 32% less efficient at absorbing CO₂ over the last 25 years. This is not a good thing because oceans, plants and soil absorb CO₂ from our factories, cars, and people. The southern oceans themselves do 15% of the job.

The current problem is tied to an increase in winds. As the core ozone layer depleted and atmospheric warming occurred, winds around the globe picked up. The winds churned the oceans and awakened deep water that tends to have a higher carbon load than surface water because the carbon sinks. The higher carbon load now at the surface brought the surface waters closer to a carbon saturation point. Net effect: the ocean is now less able to be an effective, protective “carbon sink.”

In the U.S., we award ingenuity, competitiveness and productivity in the short term. We focus on quarterly profits and resist losing focus by dreaming about the future or engaging too much in long-term strategic planning. Rather, we hold on to even a declining value proposition till we’ve wrung every bit of value out of it and the risks of continuing greatly exceed the benefits. At that moment we throw our vast human, organizational and financial assets behind the new value proposition and rapidly shift directions.

But with environmental issues, we can’t do that. Witness the years of EPA battles over contaminated clean-up sites (think GE’s PCPs in the Hudson) or the denial of toxic air at Ground Zero after 9/11 and the toll on NY police and firemen, or, in this case, global warming.

When it comes to the environment and health, rapid turnarounds are not possible. Once the damage is done, it’s done. At worst, as in this case, once the damage is done, it accelerates. What is particularly galling in the case of global warming and the Kyoto Protocol is that the opportunity for leadership was so obvious, the science so clear, the need so great, and the ongoing feet-dragging so counterproductive. As I’ve outlined in an upcoming Health Politics piece about Duke Energy and others who are moving in the right direction, if you’re a Fortune 500 company now, don’t wait for the government – it’s still just blowing hot air.

Category: Uncategorized

Comments

One Response to “Blowing Hot Air at Short-Term Capitalism”

lecture
January 27th, 2016 @ 4:58 pm

Hi there to every body, it’s my first visit of this
website; this web site consists of awesome and actually fine data
in favor of readers.