OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURE

 I have been posting on the environment and climate change on my Facebook site(Ron Milestone) almost daily for the last year. Although the day to day posts cover a range of topics, the basic issues are not complicated or confusing (though they may be difficult to solve!).
1) How do we rein in the use of fossil fuels and other carbon production to slow the climate changes already occurring? How do we do this without totally disrupting the economic balance of separate countries?  The relationship of humans to energy use is a vital concern.  A defined amount of energy arrives at the earth each day as sunlight.  This is converted into various phenomena and may be converted to other forms (solar power, wind turbines).  Residual heat from processes within the earth provides an additional source of energy.  And plants have stored energy in their structures over eons, and continue to do so.  Energy is stored in every molecule and methods of releasing this have been developed (nuclear) but their safety has historically been poorly engineered.  Energy is needed for daily activities and for transportation from place to place.  It is easier to use alternative energy sources converted to electricity for daily activities, and more difficult to use them for transportation.   The reserve of fossil fuels is depleting.  A decision must be made to slow their use and preserve their availability to make the transition to future power needs less drastic.
2) How do we adjust to the climate changes occurring and likely to continue in this century without catastrophic political events? This includes managing the changing distribution of water, intensification of weather events, fires, and the relation of people to the events.  Climate change is already underway.  How rapidly it will occur, and all of its ramifications are not understood.  Some of the effects are clear already.  Major political decisions will be needed to adjust to these changes.  Wars in regions of Africa and the middle east indicate the consequences for failure to make peaceful decisions.
3) How do we reduce the distribution of toxic polluting substances, and clear ones already distributed, to avoid human and animal damage? This includes ending the use of the oceans as toilets.  The manufacture of new materials and electronic devices is associated with the creation of pollution not cycled back to natural substances rapidly.  A similar issue occurs in nuclear production of energy.  The only solution to this problem is the reduction of use of these substances.  This goes in the face of the economic evolution of human consumption and will be difficult to accomplish!
4) How do we balance the distribution of humans to other plant and animal species to retain suitable biological diversity? This must involve changes in human demography, and changes in how humans exploit other species.  Every place where humans sequester land to grow crops  or animals for human consumption creates an opportunity for wild animals to exploit this food supply.  This interferes with human food production, and diverts animals from "natural" food source activities.  Opportunistic animal species also invade human cities and dwellings creating unintended "shared spaces".  THERE IS NO WAY TO COMPLETELY ISOLATE HUMANS AND OTHER SPECIES.  A constant attention to the ecology of sharing is needed,  along with creating "natural spaces" that retain animal species away from human concerns.  This is a decision about use of land, which also involves major economic and political considerations.
Solving these problems without creating chaos requires careful decisions about choices and balancing different goals. The current political process in the US is not capable of this level of careful decision making. Perhaps more mature countries will lead the process.