In view of what we know, can we expect mankind as a whole to make an about-face so as to spare our beautiful home​—and us too? What is more, if human activity is causing global warming, we may have only years, not centuries, to make the needed changes. At the very least, making such changes would mean promptly addressing the root causes of earth’s problems​—human greed, self-interest, ignorance, inept government, and apathy. Is such a prospect probable or just wishful thinking? If the latter, are we without hope? That question will be discussed in the next article.

The International Herald Tribune reports that in France, one of the world’s most nuclear-reliant countries, up to 670 billion cubic feet [19 billion cubit meters] of water is required annually to cool reactors. In the heat wave of 2003, the hot water normally expelled from France’s reactors threatened to raise the temperature of rivers to environmentally damaging levels. Hence, some power stations had to shut down. This situation is expected to worsen if global temperatures rise.

“We’re going to have to solve the climate-change problem if we’re going to have nuclear power,” said nuclear engineer David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Earth’s Future​—In Whose Hands?

“GLOBAL WARMING presents the greatest test we humans have yet faced,” asserted the October 2007 edition of National Geographic. If we are to meet that challenge successfully, said the magazine, we need to “move quickly and decisively​—and with a maturity we’ve rarely shown as a society or a species.”

Will such maturity rise to the fore? Working against it are many factors: apathy, greed, ignorance, vested interests, the scramble for wealth in developing lands, and the business-as-usual philosophy of millions who want to maintain a high-energy-consuming lifestyle.

An ancient prophet of God gives us a realistic appraisal of our capacity to solve our ethical, social, and governmental problems. He wrote: “To earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) Mankind’s tragic history underscores those words. And today, although armed with significant developments in science and technology, we are faced with previously unimaginable threats. So how confident can we be that tomorrow will be better?

It is true that there has been a lot of talk about tackling climate change and other harmful trends, but little has been done. For example, how did the nations respond in 2007 when the Northwest Passage opened up for navigation for the first time? An editorial in New Scientist magazine answers: “With an unseemly scramble to lay claim to the exposed chunks of continental shelf so they [could] drill for more oil and gas.”