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Who Ya Gonna Call?

May 25, 2018

To be clear, the current Administration in charge of the American government does not accept that human beings are responsible for climate change. Most governments do, of course: 194 signed the Paris Climate Agreement, from which only one - the U.S. - has withdrawn. By my calculation, that leaves 193 participating countries. The reason is clear: the United States believes that the cost of mitigating climate change will fall largely upon its ample shoulders. Given that the majority of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere originated, until quite recently, in the U.S., this would seem just and fair. American business magnates think otherwise.

Europeans, though prone to outbursts of intercontinental fury into which they manage to draw millions of frightened-witless bystanders, frequently view the world in pragmatic terms when not thusly occupied. Copernicus may, in my opinion, be offered as proof of this pragmatism. The name of a program initiated by the European Union, Copernicus is, I think, little known to people outside of Europe (and possibly to people inside Europe, as well). Devoted to the collection of data made available by the Sentinel system of satellites, in concert with existing commercial and public satellites, Copernicus makes possible a broad array of studies which are divided into six main categories: atmospheric, marine, land, climatological, emergency (disaster preparedness), and security. A range of applications can benefit from the information discovered, including urban area management, sustainable development, nature conservation, regional and local planning, agriculture, forestry, fisheries management, health, civil protection, infrastructure, transport, and tourism.

The program's primary users (again, this is in Europe) are policymakers and legislators. In the United States, it seems the only users of similar information are the branches of the military. They know all too well that when the doodoo hits the fan, they'll be expected to work miracles in the way of saving lives. Isn't it interesting that the Houses of Congress turn a blind eye to their nefarious doings? One can only wonder.

According to the Copernicus website (www.copernicus.eu), decision makers hope to answer the following questions by utilizing information gleaned from the program:

- How can we best manage our consumption and utilization of Earth's natural resources and protect our environment for the benefit of future generations?

Manage our consumption? Oh, you mean Europeans want to manage their consumption. Phew, you had us scared for a minute. In America, managing consumption equates to one word - MORE. And what's all this about the benefit of future generations? THEY can take care of themselves!

- How will we guarantee the safety, security and quality of life of the millions of future new inhabitants of our cities and regions, and respond effectively to disasters and crisis?

If the virulent racism exhibited by over a third of living Americans is any indication, their only concern will be that those future new inhabitants will likely be darker skinned than they are. Europe's will be, too, of course. This angle seems not to have occurred to them.

- How can we improve our understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change, and prepare adequate mitigation and adaptation measures?

As previously discussed, this is of little concern to Americans. Boy, I hope we stay on good terms with Europe!

Visit www.copernicus.eu for more information.
With thanks to the Pacific Standard.

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