
Scientists warn world will miss key climate target - pmyjavec
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/06/global-warming-target-miss-scientists-warn
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drallison
The ability of the human race to ignore existential disaster continues to
amaze. The magnitude of the problem is HUGE, any rational mitigating actions
have to be draconian, and the scale of the impending disaster is beyond the
ability of a single human being to have a significant impact. It will require
global cooperation and support.

Global warning and what to do about it should be the primary issue in the
upcoming US elections, yet candidates continue to focus on inconsequential
matters. Some politicians even deny that global warming is real.

Fact is, the human race is likely to be toast. It is already to late for us to
evolve and adapt. And when it comes time to allocate blame, we did it to
ourselves.

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pmyjavec
Totally agree, it's hard to believe that our race has known of the dangers for
this long and done so little about it. I do feel like there is a transition on
the horizon, I just feel it might be too late.

Could this mess really be caused by keeping a tiny fraction of the population
rich, or is it a symptom of a deep seeded issue with the human psyche? Is the
size of the problem simply to large for most minds to comprehend? A little
like the size of the universe, it's just something we can't grasp.

You're right the effort needs to be global co-operation, but I disagree that
it's not and individuals problem. I would argue that this _is_ the actual
problem. The way each person votes, eats, travels, invests and consumes energy
needs to change, now.

As Einstein says, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results, that's sadly what most people do. I watch parents tell
their children they love them, then hop in their SUV and drive them to school,
this habitual behaviour has to change before climate change is resolved.

Honestly, Since I was a child and first become aware of the issue I've heard
people ask, "What difference would I have anyway, I'm just one person?", the
truth is if we all keep doing the same things, nothing will even change. Take
a politician for example, if they all have contracted the, "But I'm just one
politician" mindset, then we're in real trouble, what can we expect to change?

I often wake up feeling like I'm in one of George Orwell's nightmares :)

