BandeJun 14, 2023
Bread and Circuses

Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg) has some strong words for corporate media and for the corrupt system they support...
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Today, our political leaders are allowed to say one thing and do the exact opposite. They can claim to be climate leaders while they rapidly expand their nation's fossil fuel infrastructure. They can say that we are in a climate emergency as they open up new coal mines, new oil fields, and new pipelines. It has not only become socially acceptable for our leaders to lie, it is more or less what we expect them to do.

I believe the main reason we have reached this point — the reason we are facing this catastrophe — is because the media has allowed the people in power to create a gigantic greenwashing machine designed to maintain business as usual for the benefit of short-term economic policies. The media have failed to hold those responsible for the destruction of our biosphere accountable, effectively acting as gatekeepers for the status quo.

Given the size of our mission and the time we have left to act, there is, frankly, no entity other than the media that has the opportunity to create the necessary transformation of our global society. In order for that to happen, they must start treating the climate, ecological, and sustainability crisis like the existential crisis it is. It has to dominate the news.

Our safety as a species is on a collision course with the current system. The longer you pretend that this is not the case, and the longer you pretend that we can solve this catastrophe within a global societal structure which has no laws or restrictions whatsoever protecting us long-term from the ongoing self-destructive greed that has brought us to the very edge of the precipice, the more time we will waste. Time that we no longer have.
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That's from page 358 of The Climate Book.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709837/the-climate-book-by-greta-thunberg/

Greta is brilliant, and she's 100% right. But will anything change?

#Politics #Media #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg: 9780593492321 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER We still have time to change the world. From climate activist Greta Thunberg, comes the essential handbook for making it happen....

PenguinRandomhouse.com
Jun 13, 2023 at 1:58pmWeb
Show threadTobiWanKenobiJun 13, 2023

@breadandcircuses

"Greta is brilliant, and she's 100% right. But will anything change?"

No. Her words are based on the premise that the media acts as some sort of independent, fourth power. But, as your own wording of "corporate media" already suggests, the media in the rich countries (which are the main CO² emitters) belongs in greater parts to capitalists and their umbrella organizations.

And unfortunately the agitation caused by corporate media for the sake of generating revenue, as visible across the entire globe, easily drowns out public-funded media.

I see the same effect happening here in Germany, where we have a relatively strong public-funded media. People get flooded with propaganda and climate crisis denier nonsense by corporate media and private-owned social media, and the first things those media outlets claim about public-funded media is "we're not part of the mainstream media, we tell you the truth others don't tell you."

Ring a bell?

@gretathunberg

Show threadRene GatJun 13, 2023
@TobiWanKenobi @breadandcircuses @gretathunberg To quote one Meat Loaf: „you took the words right out of my mouth“. In Germany we have Springer, which is partly owned by KKR, a US investment company strongly active in the pipeline and LNG businesses:
https://www.kkr.com/businesses/energy-real-assets
And Springer Media Act as the strongest critics against the German „Energiewende“
Show threadTobiWanKenobiJun 13, 2023

@ahm42

They apparently deleted the page of your link on their page. But researching them isn't difficult either way.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/14/private-equity-dirty-energy-carlyle-warburg-pincus-kkr-climate-risks-scorecard

When it comes to Springer, the bog runs very deep. There's so many scandals and connections to other capitalists and right-wingers like for example:

https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-urged-by-axel-springer-ceo-buy-twitter/

But Germany got other prime examples of capitalist corporate media like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertelsmann

"In Nazi Germany, the publishing house gained a prominent position with its affordable Bertelsmann Volksausgaben ("people's editions"). In particular, war adventure books such as Werner von Langsdorff's Fliegerbuch on aviation were a commercial success. Heinrich Mohn belonged to the patrons' circle of the SS and sought to turn his company into a National Socialist model enterprise"

@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg

Private equity still investing billions in dirty energy despite pledge to clean up

Carlyle, Warburg Pincus and KKR are the worst offenders according to a new scorecard of private equity climate risks

The Guardian
Show threadRene GatJun 13, 2023
@TobiWanKenobi @breadandcircuses @gretathunberg strange … for me the link still works.
Thanks for your sources!
Show threadKevin E. WalshJul 20, 2023
@TobiWanKenobi @breadandcircuses @gretathunberg
" . . . the rich countries (which are the main CO² emitters) . . ."
Historically, but not currently.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/climate/cop27-emissions-country-compare.html?unlocked_article_code=U7B8pUyUha7-NNAAyKAKTbj9NIzxXkk1ExLGhO24PtAYiK9LxzP2uiYgcJMPzh8LJ5sYJ8oJCM1U1ELPDYsYfZWNRvD081AylnEdIlFNzKKvmpZY64qAetRaNgtDlyn3Hek5EM0NmOJMi3Zp09cdqDy-JdPFE0i1tMzOMbfzfaDlrGTJc5VflpQiAjIwtwXxB39dc-b1uFsgGb1ppKg206ILmThZT2t149l1HiSdJycVLODXxTeihJiKYtXY4l7M1BfN-JjT88FfpQRMjSn6w6MZbWEO-e78g-nvGP0bzwFbmOf2vdeyR7F_RZrpyaLYvXLtWDTofaCuZpPvhqIkbOrgoRrfYU7Q3_84dwiGhPINYPOBImDwAv8&smid=url-share
The World Is Falling Short of Its Climate Goals. Four Big Emitters Show Why.

New data reveals progress toward climate goals but also major challenges ahead.

The New York Times
Show threadTobiWanKenobiJul 20, 2023

@whaleknives

You shouldn't use misleading metrics. Try CO² emissions per capita, or did you think comparing totals between a nation with 330 Mio citizens and a nation with almost five times as many citizens would represent anything?

Here: https://www.worldometers.info/co2-emissions/co2-emissions-per-capita/
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg

CO2 Emissions per Capita - Worldometer

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions per Capita for each Country in the world

Worldometer
Show threadKevin E. WalshJul 20, 2023

@TobiWanKenobi @breadandcircuses @gretathunberg
Well, the metrics aren't misleading, just different. By your argument and 2021 data we should look to Qatar to solve climate change, although we can't blame only them for their oil exports.

Individuals don't set national policies. I think we need to look at both.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co-emissions-per-capita?tab=table

CO₂ emissions per capita

An interactive visualization from Our World in Data.

Our World in Data
Show threadKevin E. WalshJul 20, 2023
@TobiWanKenobi @breadandcircuses @gretathunberg
"In 2021, Qatar exported $14.8B in Crude Petroleum. The main destinations of Qatar exports on Crude Petroleum were Japan ($4.37B), Singapore ($3.13B), China ($2.48B), South Korea ($2.13B), and Thailand ($826M)."
https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/crude-petroleum/reporter/qat#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20Qatar%20exported%20%2414.8B%20in%20Crude%20Petroleum.,)%20and%20Oman%20(%2419k).
Crude Petroleum in Qatar | OEC

Find the latest exports, imports and tariffs for Crude Petroleum trade in Qatar.

OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity
Show threadTobiWanKenobiJul 20, 2023

@whaleknives

Yeah, I know. But that's just moving the goalposts around.

You called into question my quote of "the rich countries (which are the main CO² emitters)" by saying that China emits a lot more CO² than the USA. I simply told you that my quote still stands true.

It even stands true if you include the tiny oil exporters since they make lots of cash with that oil (and gas) per capita, right? (That does not say anything about how they distribute the wealth though)

Of course it's not like I believe countries such as China or India shouldn't do anything about the climate crisis. However, personally I think that those countries will do a lot more and much quicker than the rich Western countries since China, India, etc. will be hit by climate change much harder than say Germany or the US.

It's just I'm tired of this continuous finger pointing, which--by the way--I always hear in my current homeland, Germany, as well. People here love to use China as front to argue why they don't need to do aaaaanything.

Here (CO² in ton per capita):

United States 15.32
Russia 11.45
Japan 9.76
Germany 9.42
.
.
.
China 7.44
.
.
.
India 1.89

That's what I'm talking about.

And these numbers ignore another very convenient fact:

Rich industrial countries outsourced their manufacturing to poorer countries like China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc. So those countries need much more energy to produce products that are then sold in the West by Western companies.

@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg

Show threadLupposofiJun 13, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg Hear hear!
Show threadashJun 13, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg I am so about to read this book 🥰💐📚
Show threadcandyblackartistJun 13, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg Agreed. consumers are paying the price to go green, but will pay a greater price if they don't. With government intervention we could as a population go green and afford to make better choices, and major polluters would have their businesses stopped. The media are apathetic and in denial of the responsibility they have to the climate crisis to the fore.
Show threadSmashedRatOnPressJun 13, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg Feels increasingly like Greta Thunberg is the only sane person in the world.
Show threadmeduz'Jun 13, 2023

@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg Great excerpt, thanks for sharing!

“there is, frankly, no entity other than the media that has the opportunity to create the necessary transformation of our global society.”

On another topic, that’s basically what I said 15 years ago about how media in France deal with political topics: they are directly complicit for the shit (lies and shitty behaviour) growing in people’s mind. And until now I’m right and nothing changed.

Show threadFugue State Machine MotoJun 14, 2023

@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg The Media is absolutely a pivotal piece in the propaganda machine.

As long the public imagination remains under the influence of monopolistic news and entertainment conglomerates, the “media narrative” remains out of our control, and in the hands of exactly those who wish most to distract us.

Show threadFirefly's GhostJun 14, 2023
@cmdrmoto @breadandcircuses @gretathunberg
👆🏻💯%
Show threadpaviJun 14, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg Greenwashing reminds me of green party germany! 🍏
Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Jun 14, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg As long as they "increase shareholder value", they're doing what they think they're there for. After that, they don't care. How do we fix that without a 1792-type revolution?
Show threadScott NelsonJun 14, 2023

@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg

Having a adolescent advocating that the media terrorize the population is just going to dull the masses into further nihilistic ennui and is not the wise course through this.

Show threadGalaxy MapJul 20, 2023

@breadandcircuses Well yes. I admire Greta Thunberg tremendously but no surprise about the mass media.

The purpose of the mass media is to sell eyeballs to advertisers and they do this by entertaining their viewers and pandering to their prejudices.

I don't think education about important political and social issues is anywhere near the top of their list.

Show threadCatweazleJul 20, 2023
@breadandcircuses @gretathunberg, I have left the amount of "strong words" that I am using for these criminals since half a century. You have to drag them out of politics NOW, to see how long they can endure being hung from their noble parts. They are genocidal out of greed and selfish interests and must be dealt with accordingly.