291
I Study Climate Change. The Data Is Telling Us Something New.
(www.nytimes.com)
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
I'm less optimistic than you, I think we will continue to increase fossil fuel usage, even though millions are dying and being displaced.
As long as the income stream isnt threatened either by unrest, mass deaths, or hardware malfunctioning, expect business as usual.
That's the kind of logic I expect to see in the coming decades.
People will argue the details, debate the topics, defend finances and the economy .... all while the world falls apart and people die, are actively dying or will live shorter lives.
Humanity will fade into obscurity as we all fight with one another.
Hell yeah.
Thats for sure. Many finance analysts predict 3 digit oil prices.
Investments will ramp up once demand puts pressure on the price.
And fossil fuel industry will be the most profitable one again.
WE CANT EXPECT OUR SYSTEM TO CHANGE WITHOUT CHANGING THE SYSTEM.
What will we need all those fossil fuels for? Surely, at some point in the early 2030's, as capex for PV/wind turbines/heat pumps/batteries decreases and opex remains low, most people will have realized that fossil fuels are personally costing them money. The only business remaining may be plastics rather than electricity and heat. Granted, it's entirely possible fossil fuel companies successfully double down on plastics (which is what many are planning already).
I mean, thanks to citizens united and "lobbying", oil companies control the US, and therefore the world. So no, I don't expect to see much change.