6 ms·

I think perhaps the gravity of the situation concerning all ecosystems could be illustrated effectively if government "open comment" boxes were effectively ddos

I think perhaps the gravity of the situation concerning all ecosystems could be illustrated effectively if government "open comment" boxes were effectively ddos'd with articles like these from all manner of publications. Major systemic change is necessary from the top down. The individual environmentally conscious contribution, even if widespread, can certainly help but it cannot outstrip the negative pattern of a well organized pervasive attitude that does not take findings like those in the article into account.

ianai 5y ago
Just write your representatives in Congress, the President, and participate in your civic duties. DOS’ing some poor saps inbox isn’t it. Edit-Also be polite. No death threats…
- datameta 5y ago
  Absolutely. Polite discourse is the most effective way. Often it's better to write nothing at all than to write something in anger. I was modeling my thoughts on the hundreds of thousands of Net Neutrality comments that were received by the FCC a few years ago. That they doctored the perception (using bots) that the proportion of submissions against upholding net neutrality was higher than it really was is another story..
- the8472 5y ago
  > No death threats… Carbon footprint reduction is inevitable. Your choice, Mr. Congressman, is whether it will be smaller shoes or fewer feet.
mistrial9 5y ago
hm.. bad advice? Panic and fear block intelligence. Public-facing orgs get messaging all the time, by definition, so they are already in some state driven by self-interest, requirements, motivations and ability, to be overly general. Instigating panic, fear, dread and a host of other human responses, by "agitating" .. is a physical option and really courts disasters of all kinds. On the other hand, many thousands of reports generated in the last two decades, is also apparently not enough either. Alert! Aware! .. and encourage, analyze, communicate.
- datameta 5y ago
  Agreed.. My point is not to overwhelm a key figure/government body emotionally but rather highlight that it isn't that every so and so often there is a finding of this nature but rather that they happen all the time and from all sources. So that partisanship cannot be easily used to dismiss the information.
neom 5y ago
I thought a good idea might be to get some very very talented ux/ui/illustration folks together with a few people who are well versed in the various aspects of climate change, and take the time to make a very succinct, easy to understand and beautiful microsite that shows the coalescing of all of the aspects of change that result in a crisis. I think if people can see them all together and understand how the positive feedback loops are connected, it would help people think individually about what aspects they could realistically tackle, as well as the magnitude of the problem. People can very clearly see the system is falling to bits, but I'm not sure most people understand it's actually a group of interconnected systems. I mean, they know, but I don't believe it's easy for people to wrap a mental model around all this. I also think there are still very many people who believe it will not affect them meaningfully within their lifetime.
- datameta 5y ago
  This idea if well executed and spread virally could be rather effective. I have seen how useful a properly put together website has been in helping organize efforts in contacting representatives, increasing voter turnout, and scheduling protests.
  - neom 5y ago
    I agree it would need to be very well executed, but there are some strong minds around. You'd need a great domain and really great team, and some press (even if just tweets from people with huge followings).
- doitLP 5y ago
  Please do this. Everything from kelp forests dying to bug populations diasappearing to the unsustainable mining of gravel needs to be displayed in a way that really communicates the breakneck pace at which we’re headed for doom. But it needs to be presented in an exquisitely wel-done, bare-facts way that ends with a CTA (unlike for example Kurzgesagt which is just depressing) I bet a lot of people would like to help for free. Most of us feel helpless most of the time.
  - 5y ago
ajuc 5y ago
They already know, it's just that fossil fuel industry sends checks not articles.
throwanem 5y ago
Good luck DDOSing /dev/null.
jfengel 5y ago
Everyone in the government already has all of the facts. They are not unaware of it, or of the gravity of the situation. It's just that some of them don't believe it, and were voted in by supporters who don't believe it. They aren't going to turn around to their constituents and say "huh, turns out climate change is real and bad, so I'm going to do the opposite of what I promised when you voted for me." No amount of scholarship will ever change that. As for what will... search me. It seems to be self-reinforcing at this point. Maybe the steady drumbeat of articles like this will help change the minds of ordinary people, though I can't see how.

ianai 5y ago

Just write your representatives in Congress, the President, and participate in your civic duties. DOS’ing some poor saps inbox isn’t it. Edit-Also be polite. No death threats…

datameta 5y ago
Absolutely. Polite discourse is the most effective way. Often it's better to write nothing at all than to write something in anger. I was modeling my thoughts on the hundreds of thousands of Net Neutrality comments that were received by the FCC a few years ago. That they doctored the perception (using bots) that the proportion of submissions against upholding net neutrality was higher than it really was is another story..
the8472 5y ago
> No death threats… Carbon footprint reduction is inevitable. Your choice, Mr. Congressman, is whether it will be smaller shoes or fewer feet.

mistrial9 5y ago

hm.. bad advice? Panic and fear block intelligence. Public-facing orgs get messaging all the time, by definition, so they are already in some state driven by self-interest, requirements, motivations and ability, to be overly general. Instigating panic, fear, dread and a host of other human responses, by "agitating" .. is a physical option and really courts disasters of all kinds. On the other hand, many thousands of reports generated in the last two decades, is also apparently not enough either. Alert! Aware! .. and encourage, analyze, communicate.

datameta 5y ago
Agreed.. My point is not to overwhelm a key figure/government body emotionally but rather highlight that it isn't that every so and so often there is a finding of this nature but rather that they happen all the time and from all sources. So that partisanship cannot be easily used to dismiss the information.

neom 5y ago

I thought a good idea might be to get some very very talented ux/ui/illustration folks together with a few people who are well versed in the various aspects of climate change, and take the time to make a very succinct, easy to understand and beautiful microsite that shows the coalescing of all of the aspects of change that result in a crisis. I think if people can see them all together and understand how the positive feedback loops are connected, it would help people think individually about what aspects they could realistically tackle, as well as the magnitude of the problem. People can very clearly see the system is falling to bits, but I'm not sure most people understand it's actually a group of interconnected systems. I mean, they know, but I don't believe it's easy for people to wrap a mental model around all this. I also think there are still very many people who believe it will not affect them meaningfully within their lifetime.

datameta 5y ago
This idea if well executed and spread virally could be rather effective. I have seen how useful a properly put together website has been in helping organize efforts in contacting representatives, increasing voter turnout, and scheduling protests.
- neom 5y ago
  I agree it would need to be very well executed, but there are some strong minds around. You'd need a great domain and really great team, and some press (even if just tweets from people with huge followings).
doitLP 5y ago
Please do this. Everything from kelp forests dying to bug populations diasappearing to the unsustainable mining of gravel needs to be displayed in a way that really communicates the breakneck pace at which we’re headed for doom. But it needs to be presented in an exquisitely wel-done, bare-facts way that ends with a CTA (unlike for example Kurzgesagt which is just depressing) I bet a lot of people would like to help for free. Most of us feel helpless most of the time.
- 5y ago

ajuc 5y ago

They already know, it's just that fossil fuel industry sends checks not articles.

throwanem 5y ago

Good luck DDOSing /dev/null.

jfengel 5y ago

Everyone in the government already has all of the facts. They are not unaware of it, or of the gravity of the situation. It's just that some of them don't believe it, and were voted in by supporters who don't believe it. They aren't going to turn around to their constituents and say "huh, turns out climate change is real and bad, so I'm going to do the opposite of what I promised when you voted for me." No amount of scholarship will ever change that. As for what will... search me. It seems to be self-reinforcing at this point. Maybe the steady drumbeat of articles like this will help change the minds of ordinary people, though I can't see how.