In 1970, when we celebrated the first Earth Day, we had no idea how bad things would get. As teenagers, we thought stopping nuclear power, regulating industrial discharges and cleaning up toxic waste sites would do the trick. Now, four decades later, we know better.
Even as species go extinct by the minute, greedy energy companies and corrupt governments promote burning ever more fossil fuels. Clearly, we can no longer rely on regulations if we want to survive.
As Brendon Bosworth reports at High Country News, the impacts of our carbon intensive civilization have been rapidly decreasing our ability to feed ourselves. Ocean acidification is already destroying the oyster industry; by mid century, seafood might be a fond memory.