Two examples yesterday gave me hope that the world was finally coming to terms with climate change and there is a chance, even a faint chance, that the urgent action required will be taken.
First off in the US of A the Trump Administration has released a report on climate change that is realistic in its conclusions. From Oliver Milman in the Guardian:
Climate change is already harming Americans’ lives with “substantial damages” set to occur as global temperatures threaten to surge beyond internationally agreed limits, a major US government report has warned.
The influence of climate change is being felt across the US with increases in disastrous wildfires in the west, flooding on the east coast, soil loss in the midwest and coastal erosion in Alaska, according to the US National Climate Assessment. The Guardian saw a draft of the report before publication on Friday.
The draft outlined that “impacts of climate change are intensifying across the country, and that climate-related threats to Americans’ physical, social, and economic wellbeing are rising”. Climate change-related risks “will continue to grow without additional action”, it added.
The quadrennial report, the combined work of 13 federal agencies, was released by the Trump administration on the day after Thanksgiving. Scientists who worked on the report said their research was not watered down but claimed the release was timed to bury the findings during the holiday season.
Global temperatures could be limited to 2C above pre-industrial era if greenhouse gas emissions are slashed but “without significant reductions, annual average global temperatures could increase by 9F (5C) or more by the end of this century”, a previously released chapter states.
But the Orange boofhead thinks that he knows better than the combined intellectual might of his administration.
Perhaps the report should have been written in crayon with pictures.
The second example came from Australia where ScoMo used Parliamentary question and answer time to beat up on some young people wanting to take direct action against climate change. Straight after an electoral trashing of the liberals in Victoria, Australia’s most progressive state, Scott Morrison chose to respond to a student strike protesting against the Australian Government’s totally inadequate response to climate change by saying they should stay in class.
From the Guardian:
Scott Morrison has been labelled “out of touch” for angrily condemning a national student strike to protest government inaction on climate change.
The prime minister implored children to stay in class rather than protesting things that “can be dealt with outside of school”.
“Each day I send my kids to school and I know other members’ kids should also go to school but we do not support our schools being turned into parliaments,” Morrison told parliament on Monday.
“What we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools.”
I think they should protest. I think they have a moral right to protest, even a moral imperative to protest.
And that dinosaurs like Trump and ScoMo should make room for more adequate leadership. When scientists from their own administration nand and so many of their young people are insisting that they are wrong they should take heed.
They won’t, but the US mid term elections and the Victoria elections show that the times are changing.
The world is going to have to make some difficult and far reaching decisions quickly. And these guys are not up to the job.
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