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‘We are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 year ago by sam_uk to c/worldnews

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James Hansen, who testified to Congress on global heating in 1988, says world is approaching a ‘new climate frontier’

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

In the US, climate change/global warming has rarely been important to voters.

Here are the "issues of the day" for the presidential elections since the 60s (scraped from here):

2020: COVID-19 pandemic, racial tensions, deeply polarized electorate
2016: Health care costs, Economic inequality, Terrorism, Foreign policy (Russia, Iran, Syria, Brexit), Gun control, Treatment of minorities, Immigration policy, Shifting media landscape
2012: Role of government, Spending & tax rates, Nuclear Iran, Arab Spring, Global warming, Campaign finance
2008: Great Recession, Financial panic, Bailouts, Iraq War
2004: Terrorism, Iraq War, Job growth
2000: Impeachment, Presidential ethics, Good economy
1996: Waco standoff, Oklahoma City bombing, Good economy
1992: Persian Gulf War, Fall of Berlin Wall and Breakup of Soviet Union, Recession
1988: Stock market crash, Iran-Contra, Progress in US-USSR relations (INF Treaty)
1984: Recession and Subsequent Recovery (start of bull market for stocks), Defense Spending
1980: Iran hostage crisis, USSR invasion of Afghanistan (Summer Olympics boycott), Inflation
1976: Watergate (Impeachment, pardon of Nixon)
1972: Vietnam War, International Relations (Detente with USSR, Visit to China), Watergate
1968: Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Assassinations (Robert Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King)
1964: Great Society (Civil Rights), Vietnam (Gulf of Tonkin), Good Economy
1960: Sputnik/space (keeping up with USSR technologically)

Regular people aren't totally innocent here.

EDIT: fixed some formatting

[–] Sandman89 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Barring things like a mass-exodus or populist uprising, a population is at the mercy of the infrastructure around it. I am not responsible for the waste caused by my day-to-day activities if there is no other way possible through the means at my disposal.

People need to be careful. The "personal responsibility" re: climate change bullshit is toxic and plays straight into the capitalist narrative. The real numbers speak for themselves, and the primary force behind rampant pollution couldn't be clearer.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The “personal responsibility” re: climate change bullshit is toxic and plays straight into the capitalist narrative.

I totally agree, but people also need to be careful when they're trying to place blame in general. My main question is: how could it have possibly been any different? Anger and blame are pointless and unhelpful. Unless it's like the oil company situation where they knew and then actively deceived. Those fuckers should be beaten to death in front of their families (this is totally a joke, of course, or is it? idk).

Much of this comes down to human nature and one thing leading to the next like dominoes. The US is setup as a representative democracy & humans can't see beyond the tip of their noses -> people vote for today and ignore the future -> politicians don't risk their jobs over something their voters don't care about -> climate change kills a shitload of people, eliminates snowmelt, and scorches bread baskets -> mass migrations, war, famine, chaos. The most important questions is: what will we do with today to shape the future?

[–] Sandman89 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The time you took to explain your position paid off. I totally get your perspective, and appreciate you persisting.

I don't think we disagree on anything. Except I don't joke about beating oil barons to death. The prospect is the only motivation I need to get up in the morning. So that, but unironically.

(Oh, and my deleted comment was a duplicate of the previous comment)