It took me nearly two weeks to get up the nerve to watch the abc network’s doomsday scenario of global warming in the U.S., titled “Earth 2010.” The special was the fictional account of a young girl growing up in the not-so-distant future—a world of extreme temperatures, lack of water in some parts of the country, rising sea levels and food shortages.
In the fictional account, people were fleeing barren, drought-ridden regions of the West for cities on the East Coast. In New York City, sea walls had to be built to keep out rising waters. When the wall failed in a big storm, however, New York was flooded, rendering it nearly uninhabitable.
Sounds like science fiction? I’d say so, were it not for the number of scientific reports coming out—including those commissioned by insurers and reinsurers and a new one by the U.S. government—that one after another make similar claims about changing weather patterns, floods and drought (which we are already witnessing).
As if the reports weren’t enough, it’s a proven fact that mammal and bird migration patterns are changing, due to fluctuating temperatures and food availability. So whether or not you choose to believe the scientists, the facts remain that glaciers are melting and our wildlife’s patterns are driven by survival—that’s food and water, not politics.
Changes need to be made, and fast. We no longer have the luxury of looking the other way or denying the situation exists. While it may be a little more comfortable to nay-say all the scientists and their research, in the long-run, denial will be a very painful course to take.
Meanwhile, risk managers are in a position to have a say in decisions that may affect us all for years to come. There is much that can be done now, such as turn out the lights at night and on weekends in office buildings, keeping temperatures moderate in winter and summer, urging recycling in businesses instead of blindly throwing items into the trash pile, and making energy-saving choices when upgrading buildings or fleets.
And while we’re at it, it’s not difficult to give migrating birds a break. Simple guidelines to help them avoid window collisions are available on the New York City Audubon Web site.
There is much that can be done by risk managers who are attuned to not only looking out for the environment, but also saving money for their companies.
Is there something interesting that your company is doing? We’d love to hear about it.
