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To some seeing records such as these fall is heartbreaking. It’s agonizing and vexing when you wonder what can you do to help slow down climate change? The real
by blondie9x 5y ago
To some seeing records such as these fall is heartbreaking. It’s agonizing and vexing when you wonder what can you do to help slow down climate change? The reality is we aren’t doing nearly enough to slow it down and the Earth is gradually destabilizing. We see insane cold snaps such as those that impacted Texas this winter, and at the opposite end of the spectrum heat waves unlike anything humans have ever experienced before. The worst part is these will continue to get worse year after year while greenhouse gas emissions rise. Imagine the record high temperatures falling this week and year. In 5 years or 10 years they might seem to be distant memories as we continue to see records broken and the planet becomes less livable.
The worst part of this is Earth is all there is for us. There is no where else to go. We are this tightly interconnected ecosystem where all beings are completely bound to one another. Our home is surrounded by darkness for millions of miles. There is no option B. There won’t be, that’s just the way it is. Mars won’t be option B. Don’t kid yourself. If we don’t right the course on greenhouse gas emissions with urgent changes to limit emissions now, then we will have lost the habitability of Earth. I can envision us having to live inside year round without being able to go outside. Does this feel so much like a remote possibility now? It seems year over year temperate days become more elusive. Fires. Droughts. Extreme weather events. Floods.
The destruction and extinction of entire ecosystems hangs in the balance. The crazy thing is we can stop this. But only with urgent individual and societal actions and sacrifices now to address the climate crisis.
- Taek 5y agoAs an individual, there isn't really anything you can do. Going vegetarian doesn't help. Recycling doesn't help. Using your shower for 5 minutes doesn't help. As a society, we've chosen to manage resources via capitalism. If you use less water, what that means is water is cheaper so some corporation can afford another few acres of almond trees. If consumers cut their waste in half, the slack would be picked up at the corporate level. I genuinely believe the only answer is violently enforced regulation. Set a standard like the Geneva convention that says how much pollution and waste you are allowed to generate on a per-area basis, and actually go to war against countries that don't meet the goals. Throw executives in jail that increase profits by migrating production to countries with less regulation around emissions and waste. This is a tragedy of the commons problem, and you aren't going to fix it by having even a large percentage of the population agree to be respectful of the commons. You have to declare war against those that aren't respecting the commons. I don't see another path that will actually result in meaningful change.
- pphysch 5y agoI agree with you but as it stands the dominant ideology of the USA-led "international rule-based order" is Liberalism (i.e. the individual is the authority). Until there is an ideological revolution in the West, this is "just how it is". Every scientifically-correct, readily-implementable strategy to address this crisis will be killed at some point for infringing on sacred "individual liberties". Look at Biden currently doing huge damage to the international solar industry as a byproduct of Washington's floundering ideological crusade against "authoritarianism" [1]. [1] - https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139062/us-ban-chinas-xinjiang-solar-products-linked-alleged-forced https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139062/u...
- 6f8986c3 5y agoEnvironmentalists fought against nuclear power for 70 years. The result? We burned coal.
- pphysch 5y agoSOME "environmentalists" fought against nuclear power for 70+ years.
- 6f8986c3 5y agoNo, most of them did.
- pphysch 5y agoYou should have specified that. Sure, big media ops like Greenpeace are anti-nuclear. However, many actual scientists like James Lovelock is staunchly pro-nuclear [1]. [1] - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/18/james-lovelock-the-biosphere-and-i-are-both-in-the-last-1-per-cent-of-our-lives https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/18/james-lo...
- loopz 5y ago
- rad_gruchalski 5y agoLet’s not forget about big rocks falling from the sky, volcanoes and the Sun killing this planet inevitably in about 1b years from now. There better be a planet B at some point.
- derethanhausen 5y agoEven an Earth ravaged by big rocks and volcanoes would be much more survivable than Mars in its current state.
- rad_gruchalski 5y agoDefinitely. Can’t disagree with that. But at some point we will be on a lookout, if we are still here...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- i_love_music 5y agoI don't understand the negative comments towards you. Are people living in denial? I appreciate your comment.
- blondie9x 5y agoThank you.