Considering what we know about the real and immediate dangers of climate change, how can nearly everyone just carry on with business as usual?

I'd argue there are three reasons:

#1. The majority of Earth's human inhabitants are so busy trying to keep themselves and their family members alive (housed, fed, safe) that they have literally no time to learn about or be interested in climate change.

#2. The small minority (10%?) of humans who have had the privilege of education, who have the luxury of time, and who feel motivated to care about climate change can in fact do very little about it themselves. Sure, they can buy an EV, ride a bike, or go vegan, but none of that will really make much of a dent because of...

#3. The owners and managers of our society — the governments, industries, billionaire business owners, and major media — all of whom have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, in keeping the stores open, the factories running, the airliners flying, and the cruise ships sailing. The longer our rulers can keep assuring everyone that business-as-usual is just fine, the more money they will make. And they believe (though it's likely a delusion) that with enough money and enough power, they and their descendants will be able to survive and even thrive in the 3°C to 5°C world of the future.

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism

I finally had time to finish up my gingerbread guillotine.

Fun times.

This little blip in time, from around 1850 until today, when humans had access to seemingly unlimited energy that fueled massive industrial expansion along with a population explosion, is clearly unsustainable. Something has to give. We've passed peak production of energy from fossil fuels and they are headed for a steep decline. It will be effectively impossible for renewable energy to replace what was generated from coal, oil, and gas.

The sad truth is that under the prevailing political and economic systems, there is no way that everyone in the world who needs food, housing, etc., is ever going to have it. And the situation will only get worse.

As the climate spirals out of control and food production inevitably declines, the second half of this century will see mass starvation on an almost unimaginable level. The only hope for a somewhat better outcome would be a complete overthrow of the U.S. empire and the capitalistic mindset. I don't expect that to happen, however, at least not willingly and not without a costly struggle. The future looks grim.

#AntiCapitalism #ClimateChange #degrowth

#Musk removed the #ThereIsHelp prompt on #Twitter this week. This prompt helped users get support on issues like #suicideprevention and #mentalhealth, #HIV, #vaccines, child sexual exploitation, #COVID-19, gender-based violence. My interview just out in #Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon-musk-orders-removal-twitter-suicide-prevention-feature-sources-say-2022-12-23/

The pressure worked, folks! Update: #ThereIsHelp has been reinstated.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-restores-suicide-prevention-feature-after-reuters-report-2022-12-24/