
The sad truth about our boldest climate target - dmontero
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/1/3/21045263/climate-change-1-5-degrees-celsius-target-ipcc
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perfunctory
This is one if the best writings on climate crisis I’ve read recently. To add
my two cents

"I am a pessimist by nature. Many people can only keep on fighting when they
expect to win. I'm not like that, I always expect to lose. I fight anyway, and
sometimes I win."

\-- Richard Stallman

Fuck hope and optimism. I am gonna go out and fight no matter what. Doing
nothing makes me sick.

~~~
jerry292
Hey God bless you, me too! If there is anything inspiring about watching David
Attenborough films, other than our gorgeous Earth, it is that nature has the
processes to recover. Even in the worst of conditions. Just look at Chernobyl.
A whole ecosystem returned and is thriving better than the ecosystem on the
outer perimeter of it.

~~~
NeedMoreTea
Talking of Attenborough, it's difficult to stay hopeful after seeing his one
hour Climate Change - The Facts, despite Attenborough's optimism at the end.
The time lapse sequences from satellite of deforestation, destruction,
pollution etc to an extent rarely seen really puts our species' suicidal,
destructive tendencies in context.

For me it was far more "we're fucked" than inspiring call to action. Haven't
given up trying yet, though I am not at all hopeful now.

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everdev
> They believe that without that public optimism, the fragile effort to battle
> climate change will collapse completely.

I can imagine this being true.

If a meteor is going to destroy Earth you probably aren't spending your last
few days doing the dishes and sweeping the floors. You're only doing that if
there's a > 50% chance that we'll be able to divert it.

And better than "being optimistic" is rapidly developing the technology and
passing the law to make it realistic.

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jerry292
Man if Al Gore was elected we may have had a shot in 2000. But I guess Florida
voted to grow gills.

~~~
everdev
I knew someone who lived in Broward county and voted for Bush in the 2000
election. His reason: Gore was boring.

Not everyone sizes up the issues.

~~~
jerry292
Yeah I didn’t think Gore was all that exciting either so I can understand. But
unfortunately everything has to be one side or the other. Even science.

~~~
forgetfulusr
I don't understand this about politics - what needs to be exciting? What does
it mean for a politician to be boring? Even back then, I thought politicians
are elected to be boring. I am ESL, is this word used differently in
politics?and how was Bush exciting? Is it some flashiness he maintained? I
think I misunderstand.

~~~
everdev
Politics has become entertainment. It's like a reality show where contestants
gradually get kicked off.

In one election someone even proposed a litmus test "who would you rather have
a beer with?". In other it's been "who would you invite into your home".
Neither are ever going to happen, but it's easier to tug at people's emotions
than get them to listen to information.

~~~
NeedMoreTea
That type of litmus test is hardly new, even in UK politics which tends to
trail the worst US "innovations" in politics and campaigning.

Blair got a fair few votes as he had a nice smile, the Tories tried to
demonise him with their "demon eyes" campaign. Go back further and there were
elements of the same in Michael Foot losing election against Thatcher. He
famously attended a national event in very poor weather and wore a brand new
coat, chosen by his wife, that the right wing press tried -- very, very
successfully -- to brand as a donkey jacket, and him a bottom of the heap
disorganised type, when it was just a normal, formal and supposedly very
expensive duffel coat.

Or Attlee against Churchill at the tail end of WW2. Churchill was going around
in style, using an election train and limousine. Attlee was going around
casually mixing with the troops who were starting to come back from Europe,
and talking to the people, as one of the people. Thus Britain's great war
winning leader was resoundingly kicked out, in a Labour landslide in July 45
-- between VE Day and VJ Day.

