https://www.democracynow.org/2022/7/21/heat_wave_europe_climate_crisis_extreme
George Monbiot is right on the mark. "Only 'System Change' Can Halt Climate Crisis."
Paper straws, recycling aluminum, recycling cardboard, using cloth grocery bags, etc. are all well & good, but they are orders of magnitude short of what's needed to deal with Climate Disruption. Furthermore, solar panels and electric vehicles are in the same boat. A paradigm shift in economics, ethics, and worldview is needed if we are to survive and thrive in the coming years.
Keep in mind, too, the Climate Crisis is only one of the existential threats we're facing. Worldwide toxic pollution of our environment, ecosystem damage/destruction by human activities, the threat of nuke weapons & nuke waste, overpopulation, ecological overshoot, and more all are part of our predicament.
Those who cling to neoliberalism are burying their heads in the sand relative to the existential threats upon us. For at least 50 years, the deniers have ignored warnings from credible scientists as to the Crisis once looming, and now here. Amazingly, even now they deny reality. Unfortunately, many of them are in positions of power. Thus no significant mitigation is taking place. Lots of talk, but actions which amount to only tinkering around the edges of the problem.
It's time to face the music, as follows. While micro scale mitigation efforts certainly are helpful, they will not suffice. Technology alone also will not suffice. The problems are systemic, and massive; thus, macro scale intervention is required. It will take national governments and intergovernmental associations in cooperation with each other to tackle the crises in any significant way. So, what can be done? Following are a few suggestions for a start.
First, where (in the USA) is the written plan to transition away from fossil fuels? I don't see one anywhere. That transition won't happen by means of magic, and without a plan, most likely it won't happen at all. Some Leader or group of Leaders needs to get the ball rolling, ASAP. You may be thinking: but not everyone agrees we need to make that transition. True, but after about 50 years of warnings from credible researchers, if the deniers of the existential threats can't see the light by now, they probably never will. We can't wait for them.
Secondly, the cleanup at well over 1,300 Superfund toxic sites (scattered ALL across the country) needs to be put back into high gear. High level toxic wastes are leaking into our water, and/or our air, and/or our soil. Our previous disaster of a President essentially shut down most of that program. What's happening under Biden? Is the National Priorities List (NPL) of sites being addressed? The former plutonium production facility at Hanford, WA still is the largest toxic site (586 square miles) in the country. Cleanup there has been going on for about 30 years...and counting. Dozens of other contaminated sites are waiting to be added to the NPL.
This next suggestion is similar to the first, but more expansive. Where is the written plan to convert our Boom-Bust, highly polluting, unsustainable economic system to one of sustainability? Along with that, are Fed Gov't contracts going "Green"? Are there any requirements for sustainability? Who, or which Executive Branch Dept., is coordinating this country's transition to a sustainable future? Anyone? If not, exactly what is the plan for that necessary transition? Is there even a broad plan, or do our Powers-That-Be think the "Market" will accomplish the task? [The Market didn't pull us out of the Great Depression of the 1930's, nor did it put men on the moon, nor did it heal the massive Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Government management did those things.]
Finally, it would seem the Executive Branch is in need of some new appointees and/or advisors who are competent in the area of sustainability science. The current crop of advisors apparently is perplexed by the existential threats we're facing. They seem to believe that we'll muddle through without a plan, without consideration of biophysical constraints, and that the status quo somehow will save us from catastrophe. [I'm sure at least a few departments have people who are educated in the natural sciences (beyond the high school level), but apparently they are being ignored, or they're at an administrative level with no access to the Executive, or both.]
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Not only my opinion. Be Well
