Give your head a shake
World’s leading climate scientists issue warning about global warming, while car company launches the world’s largest SUV
What do you do when 700 of the world's leading climate scientists representing more than 100 countries release a disturbing new report on the impacts of global warming?
Well, if you're vehicle manufacturing giant Daimler-Chrysler, you launch a campaign to mass-market the world's largest SUV. More cupholders for everyone!
The new giant vehicle, called Unimog, is to be sold through the corporation's heavy truck subsidiary, Freightliner. It's based on a German military transport and it weighs in at more than 5,500 kilograms – that's twice as heavy as your average full-sized SUV. Naturally, it uses more fuel, too, going just four kilometres on a litre of diesel (10 miles per gallon).
What great timing. After reviewing studies from all over the world, scientists with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told us recently that the impacts from global warming this century are expected to be extensive, and in some cases, severe. Some countries can expect a reduction in crop yields and an increase in drought, while others may experience an increase in flooding. Even if sea levels do not rise, the report warns, coastal flooding from storms could affect up to 200 million people in the next 80 years. At least the Unimog will come in handy during a flood – it stands more than three metres tall and you have to climb a ladder to reach the cab.
The report also notes that natural systems like coral reefs and other sensitive areas "may undergo significant and irreversible damage" due to global warming. That warming, according to the conclusions of another international panel of scientists earlier this year, is mostly attributed to human activities, especially the burning of vast quantities of fossil fuels like diesel and gasoline.
Meanwhile, at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, delegates learned that the rapid erosion of glaciers all over the world was likely a sign of an already changing climate. Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, for example, has seen its ice cap shrink by 82 per cent since 1912. At its current rate, the ice will disappear entirely in 15 years.
According to the IPCC report, "the impacts of future changes in climate extremes are expected to fall disproportionately on the poor." Yet some countries like the United States, while welcoming the Unimog, continue to insist that developing nations are not doing their fair share in reducing emissions. But the most recent data indicates that this perspective is simply wrong. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy, for example, China's carbon dioxide emissions from consuming fossil fuels have actually dropped by 17 per cent over the past three years, while the United States' have increased by 12 per cent and Canada's by 18 per cent since 1990.
The dubious honour of world's largest SUV previously went to the Ford Excursion. When it was released, Ford tried to assuage customer fears of being confronted with these huge vehicles on the street, saying that they were largely for corporate use on rough terrain. But the majority of the Excursions sold so far have been luxury models going to wealthy families. Daimler-Chrysler apparently sees no need to downplay the purpose of their SUV. Unimog marketing manager Bruce Barnes told the New York Times that, "moms will want to take it to the grocery store. It's a head-turning vehicle."
We must hope for the sake of our climate and health that one day soon this type of monstrosity will be considered a "head-shaking vehicle" instead.
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Science Matters is a regular feature by writer, geneticist and television host David Suzuki. |
