
Bering Sea loses half its sea ice over two weeks - DyslexicAtheist
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-02-22/bering-sea-loses-half-its-sea-ice-over-two-weeks
======
spodek
The meaningful question is what you, the person reading these words, will do
about it.

Most will think something like "I want to help, but if I act and no one else
does it won't make a difference" or "they should pass laws to stop people from
doing what causes this and after they do I'll act." To act against your values
to follow others is the opposite of leadership.

Some will realize that their actions can make a difference, that they are
responsible for the results of their actions -- flying, overheating or
overcooling their homes, dietary choices, etc -- and they will choose to hurt
others less.

One of my biggest discoveries is that making those choices _improved_ my life.
I thought they would feel like sacrifice, and they did in the short term, but
in the long term they improved my life. My diet is more delicious for avoiding
packaged food and eating from local farms. My life has more adventure and
cultural exchange for not flying.

It's not what you stop doing, but what you replace it with.

In other words, there is no dichotomy between polluting less and improving
your life.

~~~
cardamomo
Yes, personal choices are important. I believe that many people around with
world will need to make significant changes to their lifestyles, whether by
choice to lessen their carbon footprint or by necessity to adapt to new
realities in the coming decades. I'm wary of that common strain of techno-
utopianism that takes the stance that we can maintain our current lifestyles
if only we switch to electric cars, renewable energy, and compostable shopping
bags.

But we also need to think about what choices are _available_ to people and
what we can do on a larger scale to confront carbon pollution and global
warming. Let's think critically about personal choices as they relate to
climate change:

\- Does my family have access to quality, local food?

\- Do I have enough information about my the way my produce, grains, etc. were
grown to make a purchase decision based on its climate impact?

\- What is the transportation infrastructure like where I live?

\- How does my local, state, or national government incentivize car or home
ownership?

...and so on.

EDIT: Formatting.

~~~
spodek
> But we also need to think about what choices are available to people

As long as people act on what they can and not bog themselves down in
analysis.

The main reason is that the more people act, the more they find more
opportunities to act more, whereas the more they analyze, the less they act.
In an entrepreneurial community like HN, it's like realizing that acting on
your venture is the best way to progress. Of course, that doesn't mean to act
thoughtlessly, but you don't have to think much for most low hanging fruit.

I would rephrase all your questions from passive analysis to active. For
example, instead of

> Does my family have access to quality, local food?

I suggest

"What can I do to increase my family's access to quality, local food?"

Instead of

> Do I have enough information about my the way my produce, grains, etc. were
> grown to make a purchase decision based on its climate impact?

I suggest

"What can I do to improve how food is produced around me..."

We're not passive recipients of what systems created based on no-longer-
credible beliefs about the Earth. We are active participants and can influence
these systems.

------
tomohawk
Or, is it just alarmism?

[https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/noa...](https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/noaa-
continue-to-pump-out-arctic-lies/#more-32408)

------
andrew_
It's really disappointing to see that this article has been upvoted. No, not
because I have theories to share, I'm not an armchair scientist on any side of
the debate. But because these kinds of politically and socially charged (if
one thinks anything on climate change isn't at this point - wow) articles were
the primary reason I stopped visiting Slashdot.

With so much quality content flowing through this site, the last thing we need
is more like this article being upvoted.

~~~
cardamomo
Research about climate change may certainly be politically and socially
charged, but we're not going to make progress in addressing it by burying
articles that share recent findings. It's not the science that we need to
debate -- at least not the general trends and forecasts -- but rather the
political and social causes and implications of climate change.

Personally, I am always happy to see articles such as this posted here,
because it at least means a community of smart, critical thinkers are aware of
climate issues.

