Policy makers summary

The policy-maker summary was written by climate change scientists with the goal of reaching the politicians that could best create alternatives and make changes that would positively impact the climate. They highlighted the worst possible anthropogenic land changes that impact the environment and then cited evidence of how this is causing massive shifts in climate, more than what could be expected if natural forces were the only ones in play.

However, the scientists failed to create a unified goal for policy makers, and they further failed to present potential scenarios that are even relevant to future scenarios. The assumptions presented were that the whole world is going to react in one way to global climate change, and that these reactions will not only be unified, but will also be very predictable. If anthropology has taught us anything about cultures and people's, it is that they are very distinct and not as predictable as one would expect. Languages that could have, and arguably should have died, still exist. People groups that could have coexisted peacefully with any other nation were driven to extinction by a rival group that had bigger weaponry and an unhealthy sense of moral superiority.

Further, there is no one solution to problems of this magnitude. As the "green revolution" demonstrated, the solution to world hunger is not by trying to transport large farming equipment, pesticides and herbicides to countries that already have problems with erosion and bad forest management. Instead, each area or region has to produce individualized solutions that cater to the specific needs of their populace. An example of how this sort of individualized solutions can create positive change could be the current status of some homeschool families. As a product of one such household, I know both the positives and negatives of this form of individualized learning. However, it gave my siblings and myself a chance to start "adult" behavior and take on individualized, specific and meaningful projects and activities at an early age. It allowed me to take a college entrance exam at the age of 15, and it allowed my brother to graduate with two bachelors degrees (mathematics and civil engineering) as a fifth year senior at the age of 20.

Just as one solution does not work for every agriculture project or every school curriculum, there should not be, and cannot be, a unified solution for climate warming. However, I also feel that one needs to be addressed, starting with those countries that are the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases.