1y ago

MOM!

58 comments

Stages of climate change denial:
1 it doesn't exist
2 we aren't causing it
3 it isn't that bad
4 we can't solve it
5 it's too late now (so might as well go on consuming oil)
We can't just throw our hands up and give up because we don't know how bad it will be yet. So we should still try everything we can to stop ghg emissions and sequester those already in the air.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/sep/16/climate-change-contrarians-5-stages-denial
- People more powerful than you can dream with their arms up world government "leaders" asses telling them what to do and say are going to enforce maximum profit at the planet's expense until the apocalyptic day they retreat to the luxury climate bunkers they've been building around the world, look it up, they are. It's not a conspiracy.
  Then they'll keep barking orders to keep burning the world for profit remotely from comfort and safety until the last capitalist true believer sycophant on the other end finally tells them to fuck off and die and hangs up, damage done.
  It isn't too late because we couldn't, as a species mitigate some of the worst effects with concerted, global effort. It's too late because the egotistical, sociopathic world oligarchs that own you and I in every practical way have zero interest in the survival of our species after they've left the stage of life, and they'll play this planet like a harp from hell for every fucking nickel until they literally, physically can't. It was always a con, our oligarchs are just the snake oil salesmen of yore, they conned their way into conquest, and the damage or "externalities" they cause has never and will never make them lose a second of sleep.
  And we the peasants will go along, afraid stopping them will inturrupt the flow of our pathetic subsistence opiates like social media, fast food, literal opiates, etc.
  
  Then eat the rich? There's always something that can be done.
  
  subsistence opiates like social media, fast food, literal opiates, etc.
  I would argue they've had complete control long before all of that. No, humanity is inherently flawed when it comes to considering the collective good.
  If you are like me and believe on a macro scale all of humanity is only an extension of a universal cosmic nature than hamanity isnt really flawed. No more flawed than when, say, a leaf falls from a tree only to become dirt again.
  If it's any consolation I believe humanity can defy its own nature. I just haven't seen a lot of that, lately.
  
  It sounds like we need a way to address externalities that they can't simply shut down. Like bittorrent but for insurance.
  Or we just give up and die because the solution involves money.
  
  Guillotines
  
  I hear Detroit is nice
- That’s basically the mindset I’m in.
  We’re screwed and won’t shape up in time. But I’m still going to self reflect and improve myself.
  There is very little chance. But there is zero chance if everyone lets zero chance stop them from caring about their own actions.
  
  Also sure there is a climate catastrophe going on that causes irreparable damage
  BUT
  That doesn't mean we should be causing an EVEN WORSE climate catastrophe
- Didn't know my dentist set up stages of denial. 😉
  
  Lol thanks
- That's nicely said.
  I think however, the problem is more that everybody wants to solve climate change, as long as it doesm't cost them anything.
  And since big companies and banks are the only ones with enough money to make a significant difference, climate change will only be solved by having cost-competitive clean sources of energy. Which we have.

It's too late to avoid problems; but it's certainly not too late to take action. This is not a binary yes / no or climate change / no climate change situation. It's a continuum. We can't avoid it completely, but the longer we delay action the worse it gets. There is still a lot of room for it to get worse. So reducing emissions is more important now than it has even been, even if some problems are unavoidable.
- So reducing emissions is more important now than it has even been
  Middle managers : “Come back to working in the office”
  Us: ”we work on computers and can easily work from home and have done so for years now being very productive without adding to the emissions of the road use”
  Middle managers: “Fuck the earth. I don’t feel like my job is valid unless you’re here so I can micromanage you”
- I like to frame it as, even if you can't avoid crashing into a wall, it still makes a huge difference whether you do it with a 120km/h, 70km/h or 20km/h.
- Well, unfortunately we are looking at the likely scenario of cascading ecosystem failures, quickly leading to most humans on earth starving to death.

This is a leadership problem. The problem really does need to be solved at the top.
The reality is most working class cannot just stop, unless handed a practical alternative because stopping would mean not going to work, not earning income, and being rendered homeless. Likely living in their car first which would put oil consumption right back in play.
Whatever alternative you’re thinking of that the working class might be able to achieve as an individual probably has a buy-in cost. Given the even greater number of folks living paycheck to paycheck in the last two years, that buy-in isn’t a plausible ask.
Sucks. But here we are. Find a cost free (to the working class individual) solution that doesn’t interrupt the 5-6 day/wk work schedule or require any extra costs or moving and you’ll solve it. Until then, working class folks are going to do what they must to keep the lights on and the water running, and that’s usually going to be commuting to work in a gas consuming vehicle. As such, the solution needs to come from the top, not the bottom.
Earnest question. Is there enough lithium on the planet to turn around every vehicle in the United States to electric? Assume infrastructure for charging. Even then, do we even have the lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, and graphite or whatever else electric vehicle batteries need for it?
- What I'm thinking the working class can do is protest, civil disruption, direct action, unionisation, labour strikes, and worker action.
  Labour is entitled to all it creates.
  
  Time is often the ultimate commodity. It’s why you see some of the poorest folks grabbing fast food. No time for groceries or cooking in earnest.
  How do you fit time for all of what you just said into that work/life schedule?

It's a common misconception that the planet as a life bearing vessel is in danger - it is not. It's just that human civilization is probably fucked (and thousands of other species).