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In short, we aren't on track to an apocalyptic extinction, and the new head is concerned that rhetoric that we are is making people apathetic and paralyzes them from making beneficial actions.

He makes it clear too that this doesn't mean things are perfectly fine. The world is becoming and will be more dangerous with respect to climate. We're going to still have serious problems to deal with. The problems just aren't insurmountable and extinction level.

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[-] MostlyBirds@lemmy.world 46 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

He's technically right, though; climate change isn't going to drive us to extinction. Yes, it's going to cause the total collapse of modern society in our lifetimes and more death and sufferring than any other event in recorded history, but there will almost certainly be tens or hundreds of millions of survivors. Maybe even billions.

[-] AnonTwo@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

I think he means that doomsaying is going to make even more people not take it seriously.....

[-] trias10@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I think there are loads of people who take it seriously but can't do anything about it. The biggest CO2 polluters are mega corporations and things like airplanes and cargo ships. Ordinary people can't fight that. One family living off the grid and producing zero CO2 won't help anything.

Ergo, most people are apathetic, as they should be. You're not going to change the minds of governments and mega corps.

[-] min0nim@aussie.zone 1 points 1 year ago

This is why you don’t substitute social media for primary sources if you want to learn anything.

Ships and planes ARE NOT the biggest CO2 emitters. Random big corporations ARE NOT the biggest CO2 emitters.

Transport (I.e driving your car) and energy (I.e. running the AC) are the biggest CO2 polluters by far, with over 50% of emissions from those 2 sectors.

Everyone can make a difference very easily by driving less and using less power…with the happy side effect of sticking it to the corporations you say are the biggest polluters.

Because - no surprise - the biggest corporate polluters are almost all oil and energy companies.

[-] trias10@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

My guess is you're quoting this? https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

The problem with your statement is fragmentation. Yes, "transportation" is the biggest single CO2 polluter followed by electricity, but there are billions of individual cars and lorries out there, across many different nations and laws, so the marginal effect of any single car is infinitesimal, and too difficult to go after. But things like maritime shipping, aviation, and railroads are monolithic, and transnationally regulated, so much easier to make an impact. Commercial transport also accounts for a way, way larger chunk of the 28% than residential transport.

In terms of most bang for buck, we should be targeting electricity generation and industry, as these are not nearly as fragmented, and easier to directly regulate and enforce regulation. If you immediately outlawed the top 100 corporations on the planet, you'd make a way bigger impact on CO2 than say, every residential house in America giving up their personal automobiles. Commercial lorries pollute far more than residential autos.

[-] anlumo@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago

There's also another big reason why fixing energy generation is top priority: the way to fix maritime shipping, aviation and personal transportation is to move them to electric trains, which needs more electric power.

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

And heating, and cooking

My brother from a “red” state just relayed the latest conspiracy theory he heard: electrifying everything is just a way to trap us so “they” can raise rates and we have no options

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this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2023
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