
The Whale Dying on the Mountain - Thevet
http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-long/whale-dying-mountain
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Outdoorsman
>>If the most urgent question of our times is why we fail to care deeply about
the most urgent issue of our times, then there are lessons to be learned in
the shadow of Comox Glacier.<<

A sobering statement...

Nice write up, and spectacular photography...

I learned that there's actually a term for the remorse I often faintly feel
when I think about the Earth my children and grandchildren will inherit...

"Solastalgia", which describes a form of psychic or existential distress
caused by environmental change, such as mining or climate change.

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zzalpha
We fail to care because I expect most people are resigned to the fact that we
aren't going to do a damn thing about it.

Climate change is real. Humans are causing it. And we're not going to stop.
It's as simple as that.

So why waste emotional energy on the issue?

What I find odd is that folks find that odd. It's actually a pretty rational
reaction to the situation.

Far less rational is to think you can convince 8 billion prisoners to solve a
dilemma bigger than any of them can possibly imagine.

~~~
zck
> And we're not going to stop. It's as simple as that.

I think that people who are using emotional energy, as you put it, disagree on
this point.

~~~
zzalpha
_I think that people who are using emotional energy, as you put it, disagree
on this point._

And, to be blunt, they're wrong.

There is literally no reason whatsoever that humans will all agree to curb
greenhouse gas emissions. That would require that everyone 1) agree climate
change is happening, 2) it's their responsibility to address it, and 3) it's
worth the "cost" to try and address it.

The vast majority of nations that contribute the lion's share of greenhouse
gas emissions are developed western countries. The vast majority of nations
that will bear the brunt of the consequences of climate change are poor,
eastern and African nations.

So those nations that could have the greatest impact have the least motivation
to do anything.

Thus we will continue to pump CO2 into the atmosphere until the immediate
opportunity cost of doing so outweighs the immediate opportunity cost of not
doing so (since humans are primarily driven by short-term economic needs).
That basically requires non-CO2-producing resources to be cheaper than
CO2-producing resources, and that won't happen for a _long_ time, particularly
in the transportation sector.

