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‘What if there just is no solution?’ How we are all in denial about the climate crisis
(www.theguardian.com)
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
It's a coping mechanism if anything I guess, thinking we could do something to mitigate or at least delay the crisis.
The best carbon emission bang for buck would be making cities cyclable and walkable. The best long term carbon reduction investments per lifetime $ are by replacing car and flight intensive travel with rail, highspeed rail and bus transit, reducing our reliance on oil. Imagine if these "carbon offset" scams were instead grants to building dense, affordable housing units.
Even if humanity dies a horrible death due to our insatiable need to consume, it is better for our collective conscious to say we died trying to fix it rather than deny it completely, even if such distinction is futile or practically insignificant in the long run.
Cars are only the third largest aspect of our pollution.
Second is houses.
First is diet.
Incorrect, first is coal then cows then cars.
My mistake
So?
The cars are pushed as the number one thing because it's something that only requires you to just drive less and puts the onus on car manufacturers to make more efficient or electric.
It avoids the #1 and # 2 factors because doing anything about those would hurt the economy.