IPCC, Climate Emergency, and amcg

[amcg]

Coming to one of life's turning points. Cannot help but think that the latest IPCC report should have been one of the bigger wake-up moments for this generation. But it's already disappeared from the news agendas - hell, it was gone within a day.

With luck, had planned a couple of weeks of leave around this time. Spent chunks of it, daily, doing focussed reading. Some horror, some hope. There's a still a chance we can avert this stuff. But we've lost decades.

In 30 years time, I need to be able to look my children in the eye - and hopefully their children - and say "here's what we did". As opposed to they who would throw-up-the-hands (best case) or those who would sell it's-all-a-hoax (worst case, but potentially same outcome).

We desperately need the world, and by implication the US as a leading player, to knuckle down. Keep the carbon in the ground, stop subsidising fossil fuel extraction, and work on something better for us all.

Also, hello folks and howdy all and it's been a while.

*nods at bartender; signals for drink*

[Sour Masher]

Yeah, amidst the pandemic and the challenges to our system of government from the last administration, and all of the other turmoil and strife in the world, this remains the single greatest threat to our species long term. We are doing some things to mitigate the rate of change, but not enough, and I sadly do not think we will. We will continue to react rather than do what needs to be done proactively. Slowly, we will see more and more negative affects of the changes--more extreme weather events, rising sea levels constantly threatening the billions that live close to coastlines and who are financially dependent on the businesses close to them, droughts, heat waves killing more and more people, dead corral reefs and sea life, famine, all of it is coming with at least 1.5 degrees of heating built in over the next fifty years. It is just a matter now of how much mitigation we will do to ensure that number does not rise more.

So I am in the doom and gloom camp, but not quite as far as some. Our species will survive climate change and adapt. It will just be needlessly painful, because we are incapable as a species of sacrificing enough now to save pain for our future. Life will survive. The last big warming happened over a 2000 year span (nothing as fast as what we are doing, but it led to results we can expect in the coming centuries). It led huge shifts in the zones where life can thrive. Much of where we live now and where we plant will be deserts. Seas by the equator will be over 100 degrees, with little life surviving there. But places now covered in snow--Canada, Alaska, Russia, even the poles--will warm. Life will move toward the polls. Hopefully by then we will be advanced enough to be able to reverse things and bend the curve of climate change to where we want it to go. If we haven't blown ourselves up by then.

[chancellor]

Barkeep! Paddy’s for the real Irishman!

Hi amcg!

[TranaGreg]

yeah it's the human migration aspect to this that has my attention ... I agree, it's too late to stop this train; while we can still slow it down I agree, the will just isn't there ... but there will be many millions of people moving from places that are becoming inhabitable - and just like the Syrian refugee situation, most will want to come to the west - Europe and North America. We're all going to have to become much much better at handling mass immigration.

and good to see you - maybe I'll have a pint of guinness later today ... or two ...

[amcg]

yeah it's the human migration aspect to this that has my attention ... I agree, it's too late to stop this train; while we can still slow it down I agree, the will just isn't there ... but there will be many millions of people moving from places that are becoming inhabitable - and just like the Syrian refugee situation, most will want to come to the west - Europe and North America. We're all going to have to become much much better at handling mass immigration.

and good to see you - maybe I'll have a pint of guinness later today ... or two ...

Ha! Yeah it's been a long time. Funny how life's rhythm's change.

There are so many aspects to this that don't connect with folks. What's the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees (let alone 3, 4, or 5)? Sea level rise? Sure I don't live by the coast - it'll be grand.

Especially with the poisonous rhetoric employed by politicians over the past 5 years, the migration aspect of it could be bloody awful.

[amcg]

Barkeep! Paddy’s for the real Irishman!

Hi amcg!

Howya chancellor! I'll send a nice Redbreast your way :-)

[amcg]

Yeah, amidst the pandemic and the challenges to our system of government from the last administration, and all of the other turmoil and strife in the world, this remains the single greatest threat to our species long term. We are doing some things to mitigate the rate of change, but not enough, and I sadly do not think we will. We will continue to react rather than do what needs to be done proactively. Slowly, we will see more and more negative affects of the changes--more extreme weather events, rising sea levels constantly threatening the billions that live close to coastlines and who are financially dependent on the businesses close to them, droughts, heat waves killing more and more people, dead corral reefs and sea life, famine, all of it is coming with at least 1.5 degrees of heating built in over the next fifty years. It is just a matter now of how much mitigation we will do to ensure that number does not rise more.

So I am in the doom and gloom camp, but not quite as far as some. Our species will survive climate change and adapt. It will just be needlessly painful, because we are incapable as a species of sacrificing enough now to save pain for our future. Life will survive. The last big warming happened over a 2000 year span (nothing as fast as what we are doing, but it led to results we can expect in the coming centuries). It led huge shifts in the zones where life can thrive. Much of where we live now and where we plant will be deserts. Seas by the equator will be over 100 degrees, with little life surviving there. But places now covered in snow--Canada, Alaska, Russia, even the poles--will warm. Life will move toward the polls. Hopefully by then we will be advanced enough to be able to reverse things and bend the curve of climate change to where we want it to go. If we haven't blown ourselves up by then.

So here's the books I've read over the last month or so, with significant acceleration since the IPCC report.

The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells

The Ministry For The Future Kim Stanley Robinson

The New Climate War Michael E. Mann

The Future We Choose Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac

There is No Planet B Mike Berners-Lee

Six Degrees - Our Final Warning Mark Lynas

Losing Earth - The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change Nathaniel Rich

Under a White Sky Elizabeth Kolbert

Notes From An Apocalypse Mark O'Connell

This Can't Be Happening George Monbiot

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference Greta Thunberg

Currently reading Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, followed by The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock.

I am very determined to be in the "we can and will do this" camp. How? Well that's the bit I don't know just yet.

[Sour Masher]

So here's the books I've read over the last month or so, with significant acceleration since the IPCC report.

The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells

The Ministry For The Future Kim Stanley Robinson

The New Climate War Michael E. Mann

The Future We Choose Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac

There is No Planet B Mike Berners-Lee

Six Degrees - Our Final Warning Mark Lynas

Losing Earth - The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change Nathaniel Rich

Under a White Sky Elizabeth Kolbert

Notes From An Apocalypse Mark O'Connell

This Can't Be Happening George Monbiot

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference Greta Thunberg

Currently reading Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, followed by The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock.

I am very determined to be in the "we can and will do this" camp. How? Well that's the bit I don't know just yet.

Jebus, that is an impressive list. You are one prolific reader! I tried to get through Under a White Sky, because the Sixth Extinction was such an important book. But it wasn't exactly positive in pointing out how when we try to fix things, we often screw them up in different ways.

[amcg]

Jebus, that is an impressive list. You are one prolific reader! I tried to get through Under a White Sky, because the Sixth Extinction was such an important book. But it wasn't exactly positive in pointing out how when we try to fix things, we often screw them up in different ways.

When I focus, I am an extremely fast reader.

The Ministry For The Future is a phenomenal book.