Global carbon dioxide in atmosphere passes milestone level

[GliderGuider]

40. Malcolm Light, Guy McPherson ... and me!

Seriously, the thermodynamic foundations that underpin the universe, including the origin of matter, life, ecosystems, societies and the shape of human culture since the beginning of time have made this inevitable. According to the operation of the Second Law in open systems, the thermodynamic Prime Directive of all life is to break down both actual and potential energy gradients as quickly as possible, wherever they can be found. This includes energy flows from incoming sunlight and its side effects like wind and water power, and especially all stocks of stored energy, like biomass (wood) uranium and fossil fuels.

Of course we see just the energy side of the equation - more life-giving energy flowing through our systems creates more opportunities for structure and organization to grow, in order to process more energy, in order to create more structure, to process more energy. It's a classic positive feedback loop. It's too bad that we have not been able to recognize the entropic side of that process - as a result we get desertification, deforestation, climate change and ocean acidification.

For our global culture to try to stop this behaviour would be the same as deciding to fall up instead of down when we slip off a cliff.