- cross-posted to:
- futurology@futurology.today
- cross-posted to:
- futurology@futurology.today
Almost 80% of the respondents, all from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), foresee at least 2.5C of global heating above preindustrial levels, while almost half anticipate at least 3C (5.4F). Only 6% thought the internationally agreed 1.5C (2.7F) limit will be met.
“I think we are headed for major societal disruption within the next five years,” said Gretta Pecl, at the University of Tasmania. “[Authorities] will be overwhelmed by extreme event after extreme event, food production will be disrupted. I could not feel greater despair over the future.”
"The world’s response to date is reprehensible – we live in an age of fools.”
Lisa Schipper, at University of Bonn in Germany, said: “My only source of hope is the fact that, as an educator, I can see the next generation being so smart and understanding the politics.”
Sometimes I do sit there and be like man, we really spent a hundred years building a machine to destroy the world
I read Half Earth Socialism and while it was excellent, it was staggering in its frank account of how much society would have to change to take climate change seriously while also not killing 85% of all wildlife species on Earth by constraining land use. We're talking 100% mandatory veganism, 2000-watt society (honestly more like 1500 watts while US is currently at 12,000), 100% home electrification, literally zero airplane travel and very little car travel. The transformation our culture would have to go through would make the instability of China's cultural revolution look like nothing.