Bread and Circuses

🌏 Born at 312 PPM

Retired NGO executive doing my best to stay informed and raise awareness about environmental crises, climate breakdown, and the rapacious, murderous impact of greedy capitalists and the politicians they own.

Why the name? Back in the day, empires placated their citizens with "bread and circuses." Now we get fast food and apps. But it's all basically the same — distraction from what's REALLY happening.

Public Key

npub1ejy6zuevge09258k79qc2exy9l3gafu02thsfj7pfgf3c67q6peqvqh8ya

NIP-05 Address

breadandcircuses_at_climatejustice.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvezdpwvkyvhj42rm0zsv9vnzzlc5w57849mcye0q55ycud0qdquspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsyt60sx

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1ejy6zuevge09258k79qc2exy9l3gafu02thsfj7pfgf3c67q6peqvqh8ya

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Last Notes

2024-05-26 14:00:58

For city planners and elected officials almost everywhere else in the world, meeting the needs of car drivers is not a high priority.
In the USA, however, it seems to be the *only* priority.
#USA #WarOnCars #BanCars
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/507/738/877/761/954/original/d60a84768c098cef.jpeg

2024-05-24 18:17:21

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@npub154x…usd7 Dr. Jill Stein.

2024-05-24 17:30:16

Hot take:
The people who control the Democratic Party don’t care if Donald Trump wins the election. If they did care, they would offer a better candidate than Joe Biden to oppose him.
#USA #Politics

2024-05-11 14:17:00

I found this truck parked on the street in my neighborhood. Notice that the life-threatening bumper is actually labeled ROAD ARMOR.
We sometimes talk about a #WarOnCars. But what's really happening is a war BY cars on pedestrians and cyclists.
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/422/798/185/322/986/original/98b5ccb4bc1fa4d3.jpeg

2024-05-07 12:31:48

Our neoliberal capitalist rulers love nationalism and will always promote patriotism. But they detest cosmopolitanism.
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/399/749/968/723/312/original/6073378727069712.jpeg

2024-04-20 12:40:20

Some people say — “If consumers would stop making such poor choices, then capitalism wouldn’t be so harmful.”
Which is the same as — “If women didn’t wear sexy clothing and walk the way they do, they wouldn’t get raped.”
Victim blaming.
#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Greenwashing

2024-03-30 11:08:07

It looks like YouTube is closed off again for people (like me) using ad blockers. And I can't find a single Invidious instance that's still working either. Just error codes everywhere, as if YT is killing them.
Has anyone else experienced this? Are there any known solutions?

2023-12-18 14:51:53

Monoculture tree plantations are *not* forests. They do not harbor biodiversity, and they are far more susceptible to drought, fire, and pest infestation than are actual, natural forests.  
So when advocates for “Green Growth” promise we can keep the economy going by planting trees to capture carbon and maintain a healthy biosphere, do not believe them. It’s a lie. It’s a perpetuation of Business As Usual.
The best way of using trees to capture carbon is — don’t cut down forests!!
And the best way to reduce carbon in the atmosphere is — stop burning fossil fuels!!
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction #ClimateEmergency #CO2 #Biodiversity #Greenwashing
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/111/601/855/298/824/334/original/3748d51334a6d1ea.jpg

2023-10-05 20:00:53

"You worry too much. Everything's going to be fine. Humans are the most adaptable species on the planet. We've always adapted before, and so of course we also can adapt to climate change."
Ever hear something like that?
Andrew Dessler (@npub1dzx…40ny), a climate scientist and Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M, offers a response to the optimistic "We'll adapt" crowd...
__________________
“Humans have always adapted.”
If you’ve followed the climate debate, you’ve inevitably come across these soothing words, usually made by someone rich, often working for a think tank whose agenda is stopping action on climate change.
The argument taps into the romantic notion of human resilience, suggesting that adaptation is not just possible but a simple, cost-free solution to the climate catastrophe unfolding before us.
This view is overly optimistic. Adaptation, far from being an easy way out, is shaping up to be an absolute nightmare.
Here’s why.
__________________
FULL ARTICLE -- https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/adaptation-to-climate-change-will
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

2023-10-03 12:35:45

We urgently need to get off fossil fuels — coal, oil, and gas. Right? Does everyone agree with that?
Human extraction and burning of fossil fuels is destroying Earth's delicately balanced ecosystem and radically altering the stable climate that sustains us. Our industry and commerce are quickly making this world unlivable both for people and for countless innocent species who are dying now and who will disappear along with us in the near future if something doesn't change fast.
But the problem is, where do we go from here? How can we sustain our complex modern society *without* using fossil fuels to power it?
And… take another step beyond that. Are we even asking the right question? Does it truly make sense to try and find a way to sustain an unsustainable way of living?
Indrajit Samarajiva (https://indi.ca/about/) is a writer living in Sri Lanka. I’ve pointed to his essays before, and now I want you to consider his challenging response to the type of questions I’ve posed above.
_______________________
The common understanding of winning the climate fight is that we stop using fossil fuels, stop emitting (and even capture) CO₂, and carry on with a virtually indistinguishable type of civilization. Broadly, we change the engine, but not the type of vehicle or where it’s going.
The general vibe is that one type of product (fossil fuels) is bad, and so we should switch to consuming other products (renewables!). If you look at the marketing of our climate change fight, the promise is that you can have the same lifestyle but in an electric vehicle and with a different type of milk.
The promise is that the future will be even better, faster, more comfortable, and without all that pesky guilt weighing you down. As the Miller Lite slogan goes, “same great taste, less filling.” This type of marketing is just another emission, called bullshit.
All of the ‘solutions’ to climate change are just marketing slogans to ‘keep capitalist and carry on’. It’s like cigarettes telling you that they have ‘less tar.’ Okay, but what about all the other shit? Infinite growth on a finite planet still gives you cancer in the long run, which is where we are.
As you can see, our stated goal of ‘fighting climate change’ is precisely the problem, which is human domination of the natural world. It’s the very idea that we should control nature that caused the problem. You can’t mitigate the effects of this hubris with more cause.
What are we proposing, really, with all this 'green growth' and ‘innovation’? We’re proposing to bind nature in lithium chains instead of hydrocarbons. That’s all. We’ve gotten away with it for so long that we think we can pull a fast one on nature again, but nature will not be fooled.
This is just the same old hubris in new packaging. This attitude of ‘fighting’ and ‘winning’ over nature is precisely why we lose. Nature is a balance. One species ‘winning’ is an oxymoron.
_______________________
There’s much more in Indi’s potent essay, including numerous links to his previous work and to other useful information sources. I hope you’ll read the whole thing.
FULL ARTICLE -- https://indi.ca/why-we-need-to-stop-fighting-climate-change/
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism

2023-10-02 14:29:23

Compare the two photos below … which is worse?
One reflects a large amount of emotional and psychological damage. When we saw that the iconic tree at Hadrian’s Wall had been cut down, evidently in an act of vandalism, our souls suffered.
The second photo reflects a huge amount of physical damage to our environment, to biodiversity, and ultimately to the climate. Yet it’s just a random shot of quotidian deforestation. Nothing special about it. Nothing unusual at all.
Do you know that over 40,000,000 (forty million!) trees are cut down *every day* in the world? THAT is the true outrage.
See -- https://theroundup.org/how-many-trees-are-cut-down-every-day/
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Trees #Deforestation #Biodiversity #BusinessAsUsual
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/111/165/813/222/014/231/original/f9da5705cc8e8855.webp
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/111/165/813/829/847/618/original/1051f7cef0196152.jpeg

2023-09-01 12:20:57

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@npub1d7j…u8xc Great thread 🧵‼️

2023-09-01 11:30:24

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2023-08-31 13:44:14

Pave paradise, put up a parking lot...
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/984/503/187/858/026/original/1a66643a163bc588.jpeg

2023-08-31 13:30:30

Imagine the worst villain in the scariest horror movie. Then imagine something even worse — that’s the oil industry, which fully intends to be around for the next “60, 70, or 80 years.”
They are murderers, openly declaring their aim to continue with Business As Usual until they destroy Earth’s biosphere.
READ THIS -- https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/110967616115278082
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #Greenwashing #BusinessAsUsual

2023-08-31 13:14:19

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@npub182x…36l3 Glacial runoff is also a key source of water for many millions of people in India and in China.

2023-08-31 12:36:17

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@npub19tx…rve7 @npub1xe6…620q Yes, I agree. As I have said before, I'm optimistic that we CAN make all the necessary changes, but I'm not optimistic that we WILL make those changes.

2023-08-30 18:30:18

How does it make you feel when you read the things I post about the climate crisis? Or when you see news stories about what capitalism and consumerism are doing to our beautiful planet?
Does it make you angry? I hope it does. And I hope that this anger will propel you into action.
____________________________
"Anger is most powerful emotion by far for spurring climate action, study finds"
FULL STORY -- https://archive.li/S78xm
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/979/984/554/576/269/original/3c339388d505c8b3.jpeg

2023-08-30 17:29:41

Would you think bad of me if I said that this figure of a billion potential deaths is probably much lower than what actually will occur? I'm not being deliberately pessimistic, just honest.
______________________
If global warming reaches or exceeds two degrees Celsius by 2100, University of Western Ontario's Joshua Pearce says it is likely that mainly richer humans will be responsible for the death of roughly one billion mainly poorer humans over the next century.
The oil and gas industry, which includes many of the most profitable and powerful businesses in the world, is directly and indirectly responsible for more than 40% of carbon emissions — impacting the lives of billions of people, many living in the world's most remote and low-resourced communities.
"Such mass death is clearly unacceptable. It's pretty scary really, especially for our children," said Pearce. "When climate scientists run their models and then report on them, everybody leans toward being conservative, because no one wants to sound like Doctor Doom. We've done that here too and it still doesn't look good."
______________________
Note that this is based on an assumption of 2C of global warming by the end of the century. Many scientists now think we will reach that level by 2040, and that we're likely to be well over 3C and perhaps over 4C by 2100. So unless things change very quickly, the future looks... horrific.
FULL STORY -- https://phys.org/news/2023-08-climate-changing-human-billion-deaths-century.html
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

2023-08-27 14:59:17

#SilentSunday
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/962/160/850/377/761/original/3d5672bff3988aa6.jpeg

2023-08-26 14:15:51

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@npub16a6…8qn5 @npub1rre…vl0r @npub14uk…2erc I don't watch any TV news. Even MSNBC is far too right-wing for my outlook.

2023-08-26 13:59:11

I haven't read this book, but based on the description it looks like a good one...
________________________
A sense of urgency pervades global environmentalism, and the degrowth movement is bursting into the mainstream. As climate catastrophe looms closer, people are eager to learn what degrowth is about, and whether we can save the planet by changing how we live. This book is an introduction to the movement.
As politicians and corporations obsess over growth objectives, the degrowth movement demands that we must slow down the economy by transforming our economies, our politics and our cultures to live within the Earth's limits.
This book navigates the practice and strategies of the movement, looking at its strengths and weaknesses. Covering horizontal democracy, local economies and the reduction of work, it shows us why degrowth is a compelling and realistic project.
________________________
LEARN MORE -- https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745342023/exploring-degrowth/
@npub1zct…4nkp #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Degrowth
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/956/253/427/786/085/original/d324c7ec29b71d28.jpeg

2023-08-26 13:09:15

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As described in the article, degrowth feels to me like a deliberate return to a stronger, healthier version of ourselves, of our humanity... a coming home, if you will, and a 'welcome back' to the better angels of our nature that we abandoned far too long ago with the rise of patriarchy and growth-oriented civilization.

2023-08-26 13:00:10

If you'd like to learn more about #degrowth, especially the theoretical underpinnings of the idea and its relation to #anarchism, I recommend reading the in-depth blog article linked below.
Here is a brief bit from the beginning...
________________________
The concept of degrowth is really quite simple. It is, at its core, just the reduction of society’s overall metabolism to a level consistent with biospheric boundaries through pathways that prioritize societal well-being. That’s really it.
It is not austerity, recession, or eco-fascist population reduction. In fact, it’s a shift away from the current orthodox socio-economic worldview to one where those descriptors don’t even really make sense because the evaluation of societal well-being has fundamentally changed.
________________________
FULL ARTICLE -- https://nishikantsheorey.substack.com/p/prefiguring-degrowth
#Capitalism

2023-08-25 14:30:06

Climate change means, among other things, that we can’t take *anything* for granted any longer. There is no normal now.
Used to be we would talk about how important it is to keep our tropical forests and other areas of vegetation intact, because they act as carbon sinks, absorbing CO2 from the air during photosynthesis.
But now even this — one of the most basic science facts we learned in high school biology — is in jeopardy.
"Parts of tropical rainforests could get too hot for photosynthesis, study suggests"
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/23/world/tropical-forest-heat-photosynthesis-climate-scn-intl/index.html
#Science #Forest #Trees #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

2023-08-25 11:30:25

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2023-08-24 17:34:09

When it comes to your personal impact on global warming, it’s not only how you *spend* your money. It’s also how you *invest* your money — assuming, that is, that you are among those wealthy enough to enjoy such a luxury.
_______________________________
A recent study finds that U.S. elites are disproportionately responsible for the extreme weather events linked to climate change like heat waves, droughts, floods, tropical storms, hurricanes, and rising sea levels. Study co-author Jared Starr, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, notes that the top 1% of American households are responsible for more emissions (15-17%) than the lower earning half of households put together (14% of national emissions).
"Our study is the first to link U.S. households to the greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution generated when creating their incomes," said Starr. "We found that the highest-earning top 10% of households are responsible for about 40% of U.S. GHG."
Although the United States only includes 5% of the world's population, it is accountable for more than a quarter of the activity fueling climate change. This is in large part because of America's dominance as the world's foremost economic power — a dominance reflected in its large investor class, which because of its wealth is figuratively steering Earth off of the climate cliff.
"For the first time, we also quantify the share of emissions related to investment," Starr explained. "The share of emissions coming from investments increases as we move up the income ladder. For the top 0.1% households, more than half of their emissions are coming from investment income."
Starr used a visual analogy to illustrate his point.
"If we picture this on a graph and imagine the bottom 10% households' emissions are the size of an average house, then the top 1%’s emissions would be the size of five Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other, and the top 0.1%'s emissions would be taller than Mount Everest," he said. "This scale of emissions inequality was unknown before our study. I think it is a climate justice issue and it poses a fundamental challenge to our political system to respond to this level of emissions disparity."
_______________________________
FULL STORY — https://www.salon.com/2023/08/22/how-wealthy-super-emitters-are-disproportionately-driving-the-climate--while-blaming-you/
CHART SOURCE (Headline added) — https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000190
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateJustice #CO2 #Emissions
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/945/700/374/553/328/original/28f623eba7e91afd.jpeg

2023-08-23 20:30:44

Renaee Churches has a suggestion...
____________________________
If we accept the reality of climate breakdown, we have a chance to make amends and to save as much of the natural world as possible while we still have a relatively intact society with the social order to get things done.
Think orderly descent — powering down the global enterprise.
What possibilities open up if we accept defeat? If we say we have failed, and that the breakdown of our civilization will continue to unfold in our lifetime?
With the energy we will save from abandoning the energy transition, we could deploy the Mirrors for Earth Energy Rebalancing (MEER) project that will provide heat relief or local cooling so some communities can survive a bit longer and grow crops before having to move. This is a small scale, grassroots, and accessible technology that corporates have no interest in currently, as it won't make them money.
We can make amends to wild creatures and First Peoples everywhere, love the damaged and degraded places of the Earth, as well as protecting the remaining precious wilderness from the force of global capital.
Other projects could include a Universal Basic Income to replace the many ‘bullshit jobs’ that people are enslaved to, that produce no real value, and a massive commitment to housing access and affordability as a basic human right for all.
Imagine the creative energy, mourning, cooperation, and humility that would abound. Imagine setting the younger generation free. Free from the obsession with career, money, working, superannuation, and other irrelevant concerns in a collapsing world.
The massive mental health crisis affecting youth today may be alleviated if they heard some truth-telling or plain speaking from adults — a deep, heartfelt apology from our generation to theirs.
____________________________
💚 Beautiful 💚 More like this, please!
FULL ESSAY -- https://medium.com/@renaeech/responding-to-rebecca-solnits-article-in-the-guardian-on-doomers-a12b0f8106e9
#Climate #Environment #Nature

2023-08-21 12:30:16

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I’d like to express my gratitude to these companies for allowing me to use their logos.

2023-08-21 12:30:07

(Whether you like it or not, you have no choice about watching this show. It’s on every channel, every day, all the time.)
Get ready for another week of BUSINESS AS USUAL, sponsored this time by Amazon, McDonald’s, and Walmart.
🎶 "Keep driving, keep flying, keep shopping, keep buying!
We've got this, everything's fine." 🎶 😃
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/927/594/331/159/895/original/38a6021a46375fd0.jpeg

2023-08-17 19:56:06

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@npub1cuw…uzy6
Very very worrisome ⬆️

2023-08-16 12:28:52

Wildfires, floods, dams bursting, human lives lost, ecosystems destroyed — who should pay for all this? You and me?
HELL NO!
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateJustice #Capitalism
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/899/268/180/659/078/original/38a74e2ce1c4a2a5.jpeg

2023-08-15 18:03:02

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GRAPH DATA SOURCE -- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18478-6

2023-08-15 18:02:34

Humans did not evolve and have never existed on a planet like the one our capitalist rulers are bringing forth. Perhaps some of us will survive in isolated pockets here and there, but today’s complex and hyper-connected global society most certainly will not.
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/894/932/262/367/835/original/fdb3c3e2aca94b66.png

2023-08-15 12:58:13

Sometimes when I post climate graphs reflecting, say, global temperatures or sea ice coverage, a commenter or two will complain that the x or y axis does not start all the way at zero, and thus the graphic could be exaggerating the magnitude of change, at least to a casual observer. I have a lot of faith, however, in those who read my posts, and I’m confident that nearly everyone here is smart enough to understand what they see, without having reply guys explain it to them. 🙄
Anyway, the image I’m posting below, prepared by Zach Labe (@npub1fh6…zu76) does not suffer from any such irregularities. That is, the axis starts right at zero — and that’s what makes it, for me at least, so alarming.
The amount of total volume of Arctic sea ice lost in such a short span of time is astounding. We have radically altered the planet in the geological blink of an eye.
Human industry is converting our planetary biosphere into something we have never known, and we may not survive the changes.
SOURCE OF GRAPH — https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-volumethickness/
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/893/708/930/357/498/original/c9321f844b107435.png

2023-08-14 13:38:49

I wish I didn't have to tell you about this again, but I do. It's not being reported much in the news — and you know why?
Because it's not 'new' (the origin of the word 'news'), it's old. This has been going on for months now, and corporate news outlets are simply tired of reporting it. But it is still happening.
Canada's boreal forests are burning up.
At least 1100 fires are still active, more than 700 out of control. Over 13 million hectares have been burned so far, with no end in sight. It's an unprecedented climate and environmental disaster.
#Canada #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
SOURCE OF MAP -- https://ciffc.ca/
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/888/091/256/442/118/original/d2cb0b60be1b2abc.jpeg

2023-08-14 12:38:11

Climate optimists like to claim that as soon as we reach “net zero” — the point when we are (theoretically) emitting less CO2 than the amount being absorbed by oceans, rocks, or plants, and taken out of the atmosphere through carbon capture — then global warming will stop almost immediately.
It’s a nice message, one intended to make us feel better, reassured that our leaders know what they’re doing. Don’t worry, we are told, everything is under control. By 2050, if not sooner, they’ll have the situation turned around.
In the meantime, we can all relax and go ahead with Business As Usual. 😃 Keep shopping, keep buying, keep driving, keep flying. And don’t forget to do your part: buy those paper straws and recycle that water bottle!
BUT — there are big problems with this phony net zero claim, and the way countries report their emissions is one of them. Investigators have found huge discrepancies accruing through the use of spurious carbon offsets, outsourcing, and other UN-approved loopholes. Also, CO2 emissions from the military are not required to be included, nor are emissions from international trade.
See — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/08/greta-thunberg-climate-delusion-greenwashed-out-of-our-senses
Some estimates suggest that actual emissions could be at least *twice* as high as what’s being shown in the official reports. No wonder global temperatures keep rising even though we’re constantly assured that great progress is being made.
In addition, there’s a risk that climate change itself will trigger “natural” emissions of greenhouse gases as peat bogs dry out, as drought-weakened forests burn, as permafrost melts, and as the sea floor warms, releasing previously frozen methane clathrates. So it’s not just the emissions of human industry we need to worry about.
See — https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fstory%2Fthe-arctic-is-a-freezer-thats-losing-power%2F
The point is, net zero is NOT zero. Don’t fall for their lies. It’s time for real change, for system change. We must demand the end of #capitalism and a pivot toward #degrowth.
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #CO2 #Emissions #Greenwashing #BusinessAsUsual

2023-08-14 12:00:56

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I’d like to express my gratitude to these companies for allowing me to use their logos.

2023-08-14 12:00:33

It's time for another week of BUSINESS AS USUAL, a co-production of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, sponsored this time by Saudi Aramco, Ford Motor Company, and the US military-industrial complex.
🎶 "Keep driving, keep flying, keep shopping, keep buying!
We've got this, everything's fine." 🎶 😃
#Politics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/887/814/304/773/681/original/fa29aee24a5425f5.jpeg

2023-08-13 13:28:16

#SilentSunday
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/882/531/742/920/713/original/069b0cf1c758adc7.jpeg

2023-08-12 13:14:18

🌅 Good morning, #Mastodon! ☕
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/876/821/427/049/067/original/f0ad53b6bda52d6c.jpg

2023-08-11 11:30:32

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2023-08-10 19:48:03

Your approach provides some useful improvements but still leaves us functioning under a neoliberal capitalist system. Fossil fuel companies would remain charge of the economy and in control of the politicians they own. Thus we have continuation of Business As Usual which ultimately leads to disaster.
The aim of a massive general strike is fundamental system change.

2023-08-10 19:28:04

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@npub1dzj…7n2l Capitalism and fascism have been synergetic partners since 1602, with the founding of the East India Companies. That comfortable alliance goes way back.

2023-08-10 19:14:52

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@npub1v4z…48dt <whispering> I agree 🤫

2023-08-10 13:29:50

"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil OBEDIENCE."
Source of quote -- https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnproblemobedience.html
#ClimateAction #ClimateJustice #SocialJustice
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/865/515/937/407/872/original/229be86b3fe91f92.jpeg

2023-08-09 18:30:25

Wow, this is a fascinating and eye-opening article by Katie Jgln...
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"Patriarchy Isn’t Universal or Natural — So Why Do We Still Believe That?
Our understanding of humanity’s past is flawed, to say the very least.
Still, some people like to believe we have it all figured out and cling to often simplistic and sometimes borderline incoherent stories that fill in the gaps between what we know to be true.
One of them is the story of male dominance.
It’s not that surprising that many people still cling to a version of the past that might’ve never even existed.
We’ve all been bathing in this androcentric swamp for quite some time now, not only thanks to the inherent bias of the first modern scientists, but many other things that contributed to the spread of patriarchal ideas over the centuries — like the rise of monotheistic, largely androcentric, religions — or all the conquests and colonisation that followed it.
Patriarchy has a long history of coming up with stories that cast women as inferior and men as superior, either because there’s no better explanation or simply because perhaps it’s just the convenient thing to do at the given moment.
And then it doesn’t seem to matter how many facts are staring us right in the face, we refuse to let these myths go. They’re all we’ve ever known, after all.
But insisting that this has always been a man’s world is just intellectually dishonest, to put it politely.
So, no — patriarchy really doesn’t seem to be either universal, inevitable, or natural.
The longer we hold on to those patriarchal fantasies and refuse to acknowledge human nature isn’t as set in stone as we once believed, the more we miss out on discovering how we could be — individually and collectively — in this world if we only allowed ourselves to.
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That's just a small excerpt from a beautifully written and superbly researched piece. I hope you'll read the whole thing!
FULL ARTICLE -- https://thenoosphere.substack.com/p/patriarchy-isnt-universal-or-natural
#History #Science

2023-08-09 17:27:52

This is a nice story about a pair of filmmakers taking a carbon-conscious approach in producing a new documentary about a 9-year-old climate activist and her off-the-grid community.
STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/news/georgemonbiot/2021/jun/01/eve-the-off-grid-life-of-a-nine-year-old-climate-activist
VIDEO -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSJTDbB3K-U
#Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction

2023-08-09 15:19:10

Do you know how empires win? By feeding their people bread and circuses.
I’ve been talking recently about a general strike for the climate, as have a few other activists. But if I’m being honest, that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon — because almost everyone has an excuse why they can’t participate.
We have all grown accustomed to a *very* pleasant standard of living. Even if you might think it’s hard to get by, try comparing your situation to that of an average person in Nigeria or Pakistan or India or Ethiopia. It’s not even close.
Nearly all of us in the Global North have a nice place to live, lots of clothing, regular meals, and plenty of entertainment right at our fingertips.
So when that call comes for a general strike — for everyone to stop going to work, stop paying bills, and stop shopping — well, sure, we might say, that sounds like a great idea. We support the cause, but unfortunately we just can’t do it right now. Because… reasons.
And that’s the problem. Everyone has reasons. We’ve all grown too comfortable — which is *entirely* by design. The empire knew they had to make us “fat and lazy” (metaphorically speaking), so we wouldn’t be so likely to take a stand against them.
In the late 19th century, when union organizers called for strikes, or when anarchists in the U.S. and Europe were urging an end to capitalism, it was easier for them to get cooperation and to find supporters.
In the 1930s, when a huge number of people were underemployed and times were tough all over, going on strike or campaigning for socialism didn’t mean as much of a sacrifice as it would for most of us today.
Starting in the 1950s, however, leaders and influential thinkers in the Global North realized that the best way to stay in power and enrich themselves would be to provide plenty of cheap “bread” and diverting “circuses” to their citizens.
So far, that’s working for them just as planned.
#History #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Sports
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/860/295/154/577/242/original/a6770dad13f9021f.jpg

2023-08-09 14:40:54

I enjoyed this short (13-minute) video about the #Solarpunk movement. 😎
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #Degrowth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twGcjDnOb_U
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/860/162/494/318/648/original/21abb9fb69f11eec.png

2023-08-09 14:02:00

Great thread here ⤵️
https://mastodon.social/@davidzipper/110843841107933007
from David Zipper (@npub1vym…a8a2) about the horrible arms race in the size of trucks and SUVs.

2023-08-08 21:14:30

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@npub1w6v…k0qn
I don't blame citizens/voters for their innate weaknesses, for flaws they can't overcome. As I've written before, almost all humans are followers and it has always been that way. We are what we are. (See https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/110146683111486492)
Until recently a strong but immoral leader could only do so much damage... taking a tribe in the wrong direction, making a city into a cesspool, pushing a country into a destructive war... but now those same greedy sociopathic leaders are able to pollute the entire biosphere while sending countless species to extinction. And they are driving us toward our doom.

2023-08-08 20:29:19

The USA is now the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas.
🇺🇸 USA! 🇺🇸 WE’RE NUMBER ONE! 🇺🇸 USA! 🇺🇸
But if you look more closely, that’s not something worth celebrating…
https://grist.org/energy/louisiana-liquified-natural-gas-terminal-lng-gulf-coast/
#Environment #Pollution #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #CO2 #Emissions

2023-08-08 18:04:08

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Link to Xitter -- https://twitter.com/jasonhickel/status/1688099350247800832

2023-08-08 18:02:35

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@npub15j3…79va @npub1g5a…qnku
So sad. 😢
Also, you may want to tag posts like this one with #ClimateDiary for wider sharing of experiences.

2023-08-08 17:28:46

I wrote yesterday about the likelihood that hundreds of millions of people — potentially billions — will be forced to migrate within the next few decades due to global heating.
See — https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/110848332837005042
A few days ago at Xitter, Prof Jason Hickel said…
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At 2.7 degrees of warming, which is our present policy trajectory, two billion people will be exposed to extreme heat.
99.7% of those people live in the Global South. People who have done nothing to cause this crisis. The injustice is staggering.
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Then Hickel posted two maps (below) that starkly illustrate the discrepancy between those nations who CAUSED the climate crisis and those who SUFFER from the climate crisis.
How can any business or political leader in the Global North sleep at night, or look at themselves in the mirror? They are monsters.
H/T — Mark@RCR (@npub19gz…fj0u)
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateJustice
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/855/128/097/236/758/original/f3e4a489dfd744d3.jpeg

2023-08-08 15:30:01

US Senator Bernie Sanders says fossil fuel companies should be prosecuted for their hideously destructive crimes.
Obviously I agree with that. But, you know, I've decided against holding my breath until it happens...
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For at least 60 years, scientists have warned fossil fuel executives that their products would cause global warming and widespread climate destabilization. In the ensuing decades, executives had the choice to pivot their businesses into renewable energies that could have saved the planet from climate destruction.
Instead, they chose to dismiss their own employees’ climate research and follow in Big Tobacco’s footsteps to engineer a massive disinformation campaign to block climate action which is still thriving today. The consequences of this decision — to put profits far above the planet and people — have proven dire.
Now, as temperatures reach over 100°F (38°C) in South America in the middle of winter, Sen. Bernie Sanders is calling for federal officials to finally take the fossil fuel industry’s long-standing lies about the climate crisis seriously and prosecute the industry the same way the Justice Department prosecuted Big Tobacco decades ago.
In an op-ed published by MSNBC on Thursday, Sanders called for officials to recognize fossil fuel companies’ “clear violation” of racketeering, advertising, consumer protection and other laws in their campaign to spread climate denial and doom future generations to an unlivable planet.
“The fossil fuel companies knew. They knew they were causing global warming and threatening the very existence of the planet,” Sanders wrote. “Yet, in pursuit of profit, fossil fuel executives not only refused to publicly acknowledge what they had learned, but, year after year, lied about that existential threat. And they continue to fund misinformation campaigns today.”
The Vermont senator concluded by saying that it is long past time that Big Oil pay for the damage it’s done.
“The fossil fuel industry must begin to pay for the extraordinary damage it has caused and continues to cause every day,” Sanders wrote. “Climate change is an existential threat to every person on Earth. At every level, in every country, we must work together to save the planet for our kids and future generations. And those most responsible for this global crisis must finally be held accountable.”
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FULL STORY -- https://truthout.org/articles/sanders-its-time-for-doj-to-treat-fossil-fuel-giants-like-the-liars-they-are/
#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction #ClimateJustice

2023-08-08 12:39:35

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First graph is from the BBC article. Second graph is credit to Zack Labe (@npub1fh6…zu76).

2023-08-08 12:36:58

You've seen the constant stories about heat waves happening in cities and countries all around the world.
But it's not only on land. Our oceans are warming too, much faster than expected, and scientists can't yet explain why that's happening so quickly...
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The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet's health.
Scientists are worried about the timing of this broken record.
Dr Samantha Burgess, from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, says March should be when the oceans globally are warmest, not August.
"The fact that we've seen the record now makes me nervous about how much warmer the ocean may get between now and next March," she says.
"It is sobering to see this change happening so quickly," says Prof Mike Burrows, who is monitoring impacts on Scottish sea shores with the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
The broken temperature record follows a series of marine heatwaves this year including in the UK, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.
"The marine heatwaves that we're seeing are happening in unusual locations where we haven't expected them," says Prof Burgess.
Marine heatwaves doubled in frequency between 1982 and 2016, and have become more intense and longer since the 1980s, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Oceans are a vital climate regulator. They soak up heat, produce half Earth's oxygen and drive weather patterns.
Warmer waters have less ability to absorb carbon dioxide, meaning more of that planet-warming gas will stay in the atmosphere. And it can also accelerate the melting of glaciers that flow into the ocean, leading to more sea level rise.
Hotter oceans and heatwaves disturb marine species like fish and whales as they move in search of cooler waters, upsetting the food chain. Experts warn that fish stocks could be affected.
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FULL STORY -- https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66387537
Regarding the two graphs below: The first shows actual global ocean temperatures, while the second illustrates the big difference above what is normal for this time of year, based on a comparison of mean temperatures from 1981-2010.
#Science #Ocean #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/854/008/010/740/412/original/6dff91a37643a148.jpeg
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/854/008/634/700/174/original/0340cd5d103984c8.png

2023-08-07 23:45:11

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@npub1qmy…uj5c Or just straight block, which I often do.

2023-08-07 22:27:02

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@npub1k5k…nrl7 Yeah, for a good portion of my working career I spent a lot of time around scientists and academics. Their motto: never say in 100 words what you could say in 1000 very big words instead. 😵‍💫

2023-08-07 22:12:12

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@npub1k5k…nrl7 Ha-ha, good job translating!!

2023-08-07 17:58:56

Here’s a little something about the preparations — that is, PR and #greenwashing — that they're working on ahead of this year's United Nations climate summit.
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A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.
The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.
The document begins with three pages of “Cop28 UAE key messages” and “narrative points”. These contain no references to fossil fuels, oil or gas but do mention renewable energy and hydrogen.
Other sensitive climate-related issues listed are that the president of Cop28, Sultan Al Jaber, is also the chief executive of the UAE national oil company, Adnoc, a dual role that has been heavily criticised. The document also lists Adnoc’s failure to disclose its emissions or publish a sustainability report since 2016. “Adnoc is currently conducting necessary studies,” the document says.
Its defence of Al Jaber states: “Dr Sultan’s full circle career [in energy, climate and diplomacy] gives him the expertise needed to constructively engage, disrupt, and unite the very sectors needed to achieve meaningful action.”
The only mention of fossil fuels in the lengthy document is in a section titled “UAE as a hydrocarbon economy (fossil fuel lobbying)”. The response listed is that “the UAE is helping to build the energy system of tomorrow while reducing the carbon intensity of oil and gas”.
The carbon intensity of oil or gas is the CO2 emitted per unit in producing the fuel and does not include the far greater emissions released when the fuel is burned.
The UAE’s emissions per person, among the highest in the world, are also listed as an issue. “We recognise that we have significant room for improvement, which is why our leadership has set us on a path to net zero by 2050,” the document says.
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FULL STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/01/leak-uae-presidency-un-climate-summit-oil-gas-emissions-yemen
This is a good reminder for us that the IPCC and all the COP meetings, from COP1 to last year’s COP27, were never intended to seriously address the true cause of global warming, which is fossil fuels. Nope. Instead they were set up to manage the scientists, to control the narrative, and to keep our growth-at-any-cost economy going strong.
#COP28 #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

2023-08-07 17:28:45

It's already beginning in Spain. But it won't end there.
Formerly fertile and habitable land is being converted to desert by global warming. This is a serious threat not only for southern Europe, but also for much of Asia, Africa, North America, Australia, and other places around the world.
ABOUT SPAIN -- https://phys.org/news/2023-08-spain-lifeless-desertification.html
MORE ON DESERTIFICATION -- https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-desertification-and-the-role-of-climate-change/
#Spain #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/849/494/575/176/450/original/b6114c8464d62da5.jpeg

2023-08-07 15:16:09

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@npub1820…9pja @npub129h…y2hs
Thanks -- that's what I came here to say too.
Militaries are exempt from emissions reporting. Why? Because the US war machine is the world's largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. But the empire can't admit that, so they fudge the figures.

2023-08-07 15:09:52

You know my opinion. I'm convinced we are in a planetary climate emergency and that we must urgently demand drastic changes.
But I'm only a layman. So what do the experts think about all this?
Here is part of a statement from a group of climate scientists, including Prof Craig Cary, University of Waikato, Prof Steven Chown, Monash University, distinguished Prof Sharon Robinson, University of Wollongong, Dr Charles Lee, University of Waikato, and assistant Prof Cassandra Brooks, University of Colorado Boulder...
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"Antarctica’s heat waves are a warning to humanity – and we have only a narrow window to save the planet"
Antarctica is currently experiencing dramatic changes at unprecedented rates, marked by repeated extreme events. These include circum-Antarctic summer heatwaves and an autumn heatwave last year, with temperatures soaring up to 40C above the average. Moreover, both last summer and this winter, sea ice extent has reached record lows. These changes have happened even faster than scientists predicted.
Simultaneous changes in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, and elsewhere around the globe, reflect the intimate connection between Antarctica and the rest of the Earth system. Our lives and our future depend on a healthy and functioning Antarctica.
The scope of the unusual occurrences in Antarctica extends beyond just biological systems. Other records have been shattered, with this year witnessing sea ice levels plummeting to unprecedented lows according to the satellite record. Last year an alarming, widespread heatwave hit large areas of Antarctica, causing, at some locations, a 35-40C temperature rise above long-term averages. Extreme temperature events have been observed in various other parts of the continent, including the Antarctic peninsula.
Antarctica is a crucial component of the Earth system and a sentinel for growing change. As Antarctic scientists, we see the evidence of mounting change, including changes in food webs, rapid change in populations, breeding failure and local ecosystem collapse, with projections of rapid transformation of a region that makes our planet liveable and contributes in extraordinary ways to global biodiversity.
This is a critical moment, impacting our well-being, future generations and ecosystems globally. Confronted by this evidence, we urgently call on nations to intensify and exceed their current commitments to greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
We have a narrow window for change. Events in the Antarctic we have observed and catalogued, and the projections from our research suggest that the window is closing fast.
The time for critical action is right now. What we do today will determine our future for centuries. We all deserve a brighter future. Together, we can make a difference.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/aug/04/antarctica-heatwaves-sea-ice-levels-melting
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency

2023-08-07 14:36:50

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@npub1e6y…2dfn @npub1gsf…fhkr @npub1ecf…f3cp
😆 Thanks for giving me a laugh. I needed it!

2023-08-07 14:33:45

Critical climate tipping points are quickly approaching... could we already have passed some of them?
No one knows for sure, because nothing like this has ever happened before.
There is no true analog for what humans are doing today and have been doing for the past 150 years — pumping hundreds of billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air, radically altering atmospheric chemistry in the geological blink of an eye — and so it’s impossible for anyone to say with any certainty what will happen.
Let's take a look at some of the perilous dangers we face...
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Climate change effects usually become clear over decades and centuries, but they seem to be everywhere this summer: temperature records broken constantly, ocean waters as warm as hot tubs and world leaders so alarmed they've called this the "the era of global boiling."
And as concerning as these developments are, scientists have long worried about even more dramatic, looming and irreversible changes to the planet that could happen quickly. Even in the past year, there's evidence some of these scenarios are becoming more likely.
A paper in the journal Science in 2022 looked at several climate "tipping points" – conditions beyond which changes become self-perpetuating and difficult or impossible to undo. While the concept raised the hackles of some scientists, who suggested it was overly simplistic, the paper suggested even the possibility of such no-going-back points provided compelling reasons to limit warming as much as possible.
About a year later, several global systems that scientists have been concerned about are showing signs of becoming increasingly fragile.
Antarctic sea ice is at a record low, fires in Canada are reshaping terrain and polluting the air and record ocean temperatures are threatening coral. There's even new research published in July that suggests critical Atlantic Ocean currents could collapse sooner than expected, which could trigger rapid weather and climate changes.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2023%2F08%2F05%2Fclimate-changes-irreversible-impact-earth-ecosystems%2F70492307007%2F
Very scary stuff. But as I've said before, numerous times, my intent is not to frighten anyone into paralysis or despair. We need *action* on an individual level and on a global level.
Demand system change now!
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/848/810/617/160/738/original/ef05127b9bc46e10.webp

2023-08-07 13:58:41

An excellent and informative piece about the dangerous knock-on effects of sea ice loss around Antarctica...
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As the heat wave tightens its grip on the northern hemisphere, Antarctica broke a different kind of climate record.
Antarctic sea ice has shown variability for decades, fluctuating between historical highs and lows.
In a normal situation, the ice reaches its lowest point in late February and then recovers during the winter. Since 2016, scientists have witnessed a drastic downward trend that defies all expectations.
This year, it is at its lowest level since records began 45 years ago. A disturbing sign that something has changed on our planet.
Antarctica is warming faster than many other regions, a phenomenon known as “Polar Amplification.”
The temperature increase at high latitudes outpaces the global average, setting off a cascade of consequences.
One critical factor is the ice-albedo feedback. The increase in temperature near the surface contributes to ice melting, which contributes to a rise in temperature. Why? Because the albedo — that is, the fraction of solar energy reflected by a surface — of the ocean and the underlying ground is lower than that of ice.
The South Pole warmed ‘three times faster’ than the global average over the past 30 years, making it one of the fastest-warming regions on the planet.
And as you may imagine, Antarctica’s sea ice is not just a local phenomenon — it plays a significant role in regulating the Earth’s temperature.
The reflective properties of sea ice bounce solar energy back into space, helping to cool the planet. As sea ice disappears, darker ocean waters take its place, absorbing more heat and further accelerating global warming. This feedback loop could have far-reaching consequences that extend well beyond Antarctica’s borders.
This vicious cycle accelerates the pace of global warming.
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There's much more in the article, and I hope you will read the whole thing.
FULL ARTICLE -- https://archive.ph/NL7cn#selection-1845.0-1849.108
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/848/655/899/241/091/original/0c3854ad9aa8da19.jpeg

2023-08-07 12:58:59

A perfect (and perfectly scary) title from Jessica Wildfire (@npub1ecf…f3cp) —
"If a Cactus Can't Survive This, Neither Can You"
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You might’ve seen recent headlines about saguaro cacti keeling over in Arizona after spending nearly a month above 110° Fahrenheit (43°C).
Not even a week later, The Washington Post ran this absurd story: “Your body can build up tolerance to heat. Here’s how.”
I’m not linking to it. That’s how bad it is.
It’s not just getting a little hotter. It’s getting so hot that saguaro cacti are deflating in the desert. They evolved roughly 20,000 years ago. They’ve spent millennia adapting to a hot desert environment. They live up to 200 years in the hottest, driest environments on the planet. These cactuses are saying, “I can’t take it anymore,” and sagging over dead.
And we’re being told we can adapt.
I got curious about what temperature the human body can actually withstand, and it’s somewhere around 108°F (42°C). That’s when your proteins start to denature. A wet bulb temperature beyond 95°F (35°C) can kill a person in about six hours. No amount of heat tolerance can save anyone from that.
It strikes me as just a little ridiculous that out here in reality, parts of the world are becoming absolutely uninhabitable, and wellness writers are just now telling us to start building up our heat tolerance.
It feels like we’re being prepared and conditioned to start blaming heat deaths on someone’s “low heat tolerance,” as if it’s just another precondition that helps them rationalize indifference in the face of mass death.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://jessicawildfire.substack.com/p/if-a-cactus-cant-survive-this-neither
#Arizona #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/848/393/363/010/268/original/213ec93f7870a439.webp

2023-08-07 12:28:48

Unless we change course immediately, large parts of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent will become uninhabitable for humans (along with many plant and animal species) within only a few decades.
Hundreds of millions of people — potentially billions — will be forced to migrate. Or die.
__________________
Iraq, with its population of about 43 million, is one of the hottest places on Earth. Matters are made worse as power shortages mean that people have to rely on generators to keep their cooling systems on during the heat.
Extreme temperatures and a lack of electrical power are a deadly combination, and one that is being felt across Iraq.
The country is one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change, faced with scorching heatwaves, reduced rainfall, water scarcity, and desertification.
Last weekend in Iraq, a nationwide power outage caused by an accidental fire at a power station in the southern province of Basra led to the almost total collapse of the country’s power grid on Saturday afternoon, adding to the suffering of many across the southern and central regions of Iraq.
On Wednesday, Baghdad recorded a high of 49C (120F) and in Basra temperatures went beyond 51C (123F); the hottest city in the world this week, according to the monitoring group Hot Cities.
The temperature across several Iraqi governorates including Maysan, Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Diwaniyah, and Najaf, in the southern part of the country also exceeded 50C (122F), according to the Iraqi Meteorological Organisation.
“Iraq is facing three perfect storms in the next decade,” said Azzam Alwalsh, environmental expert and founder of Nature Iraq. “Yet decision makers are not even aware of the abyss facing us, let alone thinking about solutions and the time needed to implement them.”
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FULL STORY -- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/4/extreme-heat-hits-iraq-as-temperatures-exceed-50-degrees-celsius
#Iraq #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency

2023-08-07 12:10:10

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The latest map, 749 fires burning out of control!
We are in a #ClimateEmergency. So why do our "leaders" go on with Business As Usual?
Because capitalism.
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/848/251/319/908/612/original/6cac4f89866c07e9.png

2023-08-07 11:59:31

How it works:
⓵ Capitalists make huge profits from fossil fuels.
⓶ Burning fossil fuels causes global warming.
⓷ Global warming dries out forests.
⓸ Wildfires destroy forests at record rates.
⓹ Carbon emissions from wildfires cause even more global warming.
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Canada’s wildfires have broken yet another record — this time, for heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
This year, climate change has driven Canada’s most severe wildfire season on record. Wildfires in Canada have already emitted more than double the previous record annual amount of emissions.
Greg Evans, an air pollution and public health expert at the University of Toronto, said the emissions create a “feedback loop.”
“The additional release of carbon dioxide is going to result in additional warming, which results in additional drought and additional wildfires,” Evans said.
The devastating wildfires have burned some 30 million acres this year so far, incinerating an area larger than the size of Cuba or South Korea.
Enormous plumes of smoke have choked the air in Canada and neighboring United States, affecting more than 100 million people and at times disrupting flights and forcing the cancellation of outdoor events.
Besides warming the planet, wildfire emissions are also impacting human health. Evans said wildfires make people more susceptible to asthma attacks or heart attacks. He added long-term exposure to the smoke can also make people more vulnerable during periods of poor air quality in the future.
Evans added emissions, like the planet-warming gases from these wildfires, stick around in the atmosphere for 40 years.
“It’s so critical to start taking action now to turn it around,” Evans said. “This is something that our grandchildren will inherit. It's not like we can turn it off and it will all get better.”
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STORY 1 -- https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/04/news/canadas-wildfire-emissions-smash-another-record
STORY 2 -- https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fcanada-wildfire-smoke-smashes-emission-record-monitor%2F
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #CO2 #Emissions #Pyrocene
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/848/211/511/641/220/original/5dde698fe42de0fc.webp

2023-08-07 11:28:59

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I’d like to express my gratitude to these companies for allowing me to use their logos.

2023-08-07 11:28:37

Q: “What’s on TV tonight?”
A: “Same old, same old.”
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It's time for another week of BUSINESS AS USUAL, a co-production of your conservative *and* liberal political parties, sponsored this time by Shell, Toyota, and the U.S. military-industrial complex.
🎶 "Keep driving, keep flying, keep shopping, keep buying!
We've got this, everything's fine." 🎶 😃
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/848/091/700/880/940/original/a9571b870c02a56b.jpeg

2023-08-06 17:01:08

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@npub17ep…ae5f @npub1jf9…936x
Yes, humans have screwed up before, many times. But never on a global scale!

2023-08-04 14:59:27

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Here are the demands being made --
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/831/936/145/949/226/original/e97d3a6d671e43bb.jpeg

2023-08-04 14:58:06

This September, millions of people around the world will take to the streets to demand a rapid, just, and equitable end to fossil fuels as world leaders gather at the UN in New York.
Will you be part of this historic event?
LEARN MORE -- https://fightfossilfuels.net/
#Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateJustice #ClimateAction
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/831/855/955/052/643/original/975be55b9fab4419.jpg

2023-08-04 11:59:04

If you’re looking for great accounts to follow, here are some of my favorites! 👏
@npub16mj…alcf
@npub1l4n…ydjj
@npub1muj…p74g
@npub14mp…zp26
@npub1hqc…tl4p
@npub1u05…lmlm
@npub1r5j…sk4z
#FollowFriday

2023-08-01 19:58:53

I try not to exaggerate or engage in hyperbole. I’m not attempting to scare anyone just for fun. I’m simply presenting what I have learned and telling you what some very smart people think about it.
Climate scientists are terrified. So am I, and you should be too.
As Greta Thunberg said, in 2019: “I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to ACT.”
It’s time for action. We need immediate system change. No more half measures, no more Business As Usual.
Dreams of futuristic technologies are irrelevant at this point, and voting can't make enough of a difference.
The solution? Organize a massive long-term general strike and demand an end to fossil fuels. If the capitalist governments won't agree to that, then they must be removed. We can offer them an easy way out — if they're willing to take it — or we can do it the hard way.
SEE ALSO — https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/110543144632118488
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction #ClimateJustice

2023-07-07 13:58:30

There aren't enough swear words to express how angry this makes me!!
🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬
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Worldwide, 49% of all wild bird species are in steep decline.
BirdLife International’s authoritative report, State of the World’s Birds 2022, estimates that there are now nearly three billion fewer wild birds in Canada and the U.S. than a few decades ago, and about 600 million fewer in the European Union.
The single biggest cause of bird declines is chemical-intensive farming. Some birds are killed by pesticides or herbicides, but the most important impacts are loss of food, especially insects and other invertebrates that most bird species depend on, and the spread of fertilizer-intensive monocultures that eliminate shelter and nesting areas. Insect-eating populations declined more than any others.
In short, the collapse of farmland bird populations is closely related to the Insect Apocalypse in the Anthropocene. The mass slaughter of insects is killing masses of birds.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://climateandcapitalism.com/2023/06/06/industrial-farming-kills-billions-of-birds/
SEE ALSO -- https://climateandcapitalism.com/2023/02/16/insect-apocalypse-in-the-anthropocene-i/
#Nature #Birds #Insects #Environment #Pollution #Biodiversity
https://climatejustice.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/673/124/284/715/304/original/f2e0f2da64207223.jpg

2023-04-06 20:27:48

Okay, I've posted quite a lot of stuff this week, a whole bunch of important material for you to read and absorb.
But this next item is the one that means the most to me, truly more than all the rest put together. Because this article offers an *actual* real-world plan for how we can start fixing things and get back on track to having a livable planet. There's no hand-waving or "net-zero" shenanigans or reliance on yet-to-be-invented new technologies.
HOWEVER — What it proposes will not be easy, not at all. But it's possible! And that's the key point. We're in a very bad place, no question, but there still is a way out... just barely.
Can we do it? Read this and let me know what you think.
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"Getting Real: What would serious climate action look like?"
Prof Kevin Anderson of Manchester University summarises the action necessary if governments and societies were really committed to keeping global temperature change close to 1.5°C — and how there would be wider benefits too.
https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/getting-real-what-would-serious-climate-action-look
#Science #Technology #Politics #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction #ClimateEmergency