Avenger Planet
The coronavirus may not, in retrospect, prove to be the tipping point that upends human civilization as we know it, but it should serve as a warning that we will experience ever more such events in the future as the world heats up.
climate change responses
Delusion to the Left, Denial to the Right (Episode 20 of Crazy Town)
In this episode, Asher, Rob, and Jason examine how both ends of the political spectrum are getting it wrong, and propose how we can start a new conversation. And it doesn’t even have to involve your family disease history!
The Cost of Knowing
What we know and what we have good grounds to fear about climate change calls our way of living into question. To take this evidence seriously leads to difficult questions about the stories we have been telling about the shape of history, the nature of the world in which we find ourselves and the virtue of achievements in which we have taken pride.
Who Cares About the Coronavirus Pandemic and Climate Change?
As I try to explain why Democrats and the clean energy and climate defense sectors proposed a series of climate-related initiatives as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the Cares Act or Act) which will be signed into law within days. The connection between climate change and stimulus legislation intended to respond to the coronavirus pandemic is not as tenuous as it might seem at first blush.
Are You Thinking About Climate Change Wrong?
Because beyond whether we achieve everything in the vision for a Green New Deal or not, it is inspiring that young people do not view climate change as a pass/fail test. For them, failure is not an option. Instead, the question is: how transformative will our success be?
A Climate Activist’s Message from the Front Lines of a Global Pandemic
The bottom line is, that despite the current urgency of the global pandemic, the climate crisis that brought us all together continues unabated. Indeed, scientists warn that the kind of global disruption we are now experiencing so keenly, will become increasingly common in the years to come unless we act now to sharply curb our CO2 emissions.
There’s No ‘Deadline’ to Save the World. Everything We Do Now Has to Pass the Climate Test
You may have read that there are just eight, or 10, or 12 years to save the world from the climate crisis. There are not. It is already here, gaining strength every day as carbon emissions pour into the atmosphere. It is a slow-motion disaster. Action to avert the worst should have started last week, last year, last decade.
Peer Pressure? Too Little and Way Too Late for the Climate Emergency
In a Washington Post opinion piece last month, Robert Frank sought to instruct us in how peer pressure can “help stop climate change.” He wasn’t very convincing on that point; he did help, however, to inadvertently make the case that collective efforts, ones much more sweeping than individual role-modeling, are necessary to staving off climate catastrophe.
If We Plant Billions of Trees to Save Us, They Must Be Native Trees
“Forty-eight billion trees may seem like a high number to reach but there’s a simple way to get there: just take the first step and keep going,” she writes in her most recent book To Speak for the Trees.
But planting native trees won’t do much good if we don’t stop current rates of deforestation in the Amazon and Boreal forests or reduce fossil fuel consumption at the same time.
The Government Must Abandon its Fossil Fuel Power Projects. If Not, we’ll Sue
No longer should our survival be an afterthought. If we are to withstand the climate crisis, every decision should begin with the question of what the planet can endure. This means that any discussion about new infrastructure should begin with ecological constraints. The figures are stark.
Internationalism or Extinction
In his new book Internationalism or Extinction, Noam Chomsky traces the duality of existential threats from nuclear weapons and climate change. He argues for the urgency of international climate and arms agreements, and shows how global popular movements are mobilizing to force governments to meet this unprecedented challenge to civilization’s survival.
Educating Girls is More Effective in the Climate Emergency than Many Green Technologies
When looking for solutions to climate change, this case reminds us that we sometimes already know what we should do, but are reluctant to choose options that involve cultural or behaviour change or challenge deep-seated social norms and practices.