Save the planet climate talk

Climate Talk - Open Discussion

Global warming & political inaction explained

Contact Stephen Fitzgerald to help out as a guest speaker: info@hootgallery.com

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Updated 10th October 2019

INTRODUCTION

April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth in the world's first manned space flight. "I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!" That was 60 years ago. "Lets not destroy this beauty". And, here we are still destroying it.

Our thoughts at this time are with the people already impacted by extreme and unprecedented weather events exacerbated by global warming. The projection is 22 million people will be displaced in 2019 alone. As concerned citizens, I think we are all here for the same reasons:- To find out why our government is doing nothing to address global warming and, to find out what we can do if we want action on climate change. I say what needs to be said and yes, understand how the world works may shock you.

CLIMATE DRIVERS

The primary driver of CO2 emissions and climate change is burning fossil fuels. Just briefly, all life on planet earth is carbon based including our forests and fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal). When we burn it to meet our energy needs it releases CO2 into the atmosphere. 37 billion tonnes per year, on today’s calculation, and rising.

CO2 is a green house gas and traps heat from the sun. It’s like a blanket on the earth and the more CO2 we add the thicker the blanket and the warmer the earth becomes. That extra heat equates to energy and the more energy in the atmosphere the more extreme our weather. The more water vapour, the more extreme rain events and more floods. Warmer oceans fuel hurricanes and cyclones. Hotter temperatures drive wild fires, droughts, ice melt and ocean expansion. As we are experiencing globally, right now today.

To some extent we can adapt to extreme weather events at enormous social and economic cost, amounting to 10’s of billions of dollars, going by what happened in Queensland last year. These huge amounts of money are sufficient to impact GDP and drive a country into recession. We can keep re-build and we can keep preparing for the next climate onslaught and, that’s a real issue. But, there is an even greater issue that will have a profound effect on future generations.

ICE MELT

That added heat in the atmosphere and ocean is also melting the global ice reservoir at an unprecedented and accelerating pace. We had a proven 23cm sea level rise last century. We don’t see it because it’s lost in the changing of the tides. We don’t see it until we get sunny day king tides flooding our streets and salt water bubbling up through the storm-water drains.(Google it) The IPCC have projected a 1 to 2 meter sea level rise by the end of this century. That depends on how much the planet warms.

SEA LEVEL RISE

The implications for coastal populations around the world could be severe if the predictions of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences prove accurate. In the worst-case scenario, where global emissions are not curtailed and the climate warms by 5°C (9° Fahrenheit), the report authors predict sea levels could rise by as much as 6.5 feet or 2 meters in the next 100 years.

On our current path of adding to the global warming problem, sea levels are predicted to rise a further 5 meters the following century. There is about 70 meters of sea level rise left in the worlds ice reservoir. If today’s burning of coal, oil and gas is not curbed, the sea would rise by 50m, completely changing the map of the world in the next millennium. To get a grip on that, the Sydney Harbour Bridge has a clearance of 49 meters above mean sea level.

Geologic records indicate that there was a warming event 14,000 years ago when sea level rose an average of 50 cm a decade. We need to understand that we live on a planet where sea levels can, and do, fluctuate by up to 400 feet (120 meters) depending on global average temperature and the volume of the global ice reservoir. We need to understand that we can manage accelerated warming by managing atmospheric CO2 concentration and the other green house gases we pump into the atmosphere that drive our current global warming scenario. With political will we can do this. We just need the willpower and the strength to face the challenge and change course.

On our current path, the World Bank revised projection is 140 million climate refugees displaced within countries by 2050. That’s Just 30 years away, it’s the click of a finger. As our coastal cities flood, our forests burn and our deserts consume us, we are looking at billions of climate refugees in the coming centuries. The possible collapse of civilisation and the destruction of the natural world as predicted by Sir David Attenborough at the UN climate summit. No greater man has his finger more firmly placed on the pulse of the planet than David Attenborough and, he didn’t say these things for nothing.

GRETA THUNBERG

Swedish school strike “Friday for Future” climate activist

Based on what we have just covered, climate activist Greta Thunberg has taken her climate message to the world and, I’ll run through a bit of her speech from the Devos 2019 World Economic Forum:-

I want you to panic: Our house is on fire. I am here to say, our house is on fire. Literately, as our atmosphere heats up, the arctic circle is burning, the Amazon is burning and we are seeing unrepresented and destructive wild fires on a global scale.

According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), we are less than 12 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes. In that time, unprecedented changes in all aspects of society need to have taken place, including a reduction of our CO2 emissions by at least 50%.

Please note that those numbers do not include tipping points or feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas released from the thawing Arctic permafrost. Or the melting of highly reflectivity sea-ice. Once gone, the ocean warms quicker driving more sea-ice melt and then more heating, and so on.

At places like Davos, people like to tell success stories. But their financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag. And on climate change, we have to acknowledge we have failed. All political movements in their present form have done so, and the media has failed to create broad public awareness. But, Homosapiens have not yet failed.

Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands. But unless we recognize the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance. We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly and with honesty.

Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that humans have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. Either we do that or we don’t.

You say nothing in life is black or white. But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie. Either we prevent 1.5C of warming or we don’t. Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control or we don’t. Either we choose to go on as a civilisation or we don’t. That is as black or white as it gets. There are no gray areas when it comes to survival.

We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail. That is up to you and me.

Some say we should not engage in activism. Instead we should leave everything to our politicians and just vote for a change instead. But what do we do when there is no political will? What do we do when the politics needed are nowhere in sight?

Here in Davos – just like everywhere else – everyone is talking about money. It seems money and growth are our only main concerns. And since the climate crisis has never once been treated as a crisis, people are simply not aware of the full consequences on our everyday life.

People are not aware that there is such a thing as a carbon budget, and just how incredibly small that remaining carbon budget is. That needs to change today. No other current challenge can match the importance of establishing a wide, public awareness and understanding of our rapidly disappearing carbon budget, that should and must become our new global currency and the very heart of our future and present economics.

THE CARBON CLOCK IS TICKING - Remaining carbon budget

The carbon budget. There is information about global temperature fluctuations running parallel with atmospheric CO2 concentrations and ocean levels stored in earths geologic record. CO2 goes up, temperature goes up and, slowly but surely, ice melts and oceans expand. With 70 metres of seas level rise locked into Greenland and the polar ice caps, all of the worlds coastal cities will be flooded this millennium. As an example, the Sydney Harbor bridge is 49 metres above sea level.

Our most astute and renowned scientist have calculated that 2,900 billion tons of CO2-e in earths atmosphere is our carbon budget and, once achieved, has the potential to push global temperature up by around 2°C. More than enough to unleash a crippling maelstrom of rising seas, drought, heat waves, and floods. We will reach that point in just under 18 years. It’s the point at which earth could be plunged into irreversible climate change and a galloping green-house effect. The same effect we see on Venus!

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE & ATMOSPHERIC CO2

There are 2,211 billion tons of CO2 in the atmosphere today, leaving us a budget of about 690 billion tons before we reach that critical tipping point. We pump around 37 billion tons of CO2-e into the atmosphere every year, and rising.

At 1.1°C average global temperature increase today, we are already seeing melting of the polar ice caps, sea level rise, catastrophic and extreme weather events, drought like no other, coral reef destruction and mass extinction. The world heating up by even 1.5°C would have a brutal impact on future generation. Experts warn we have only 18 years to stem catastrophic climate change and 9 years to stay below 1.5°C of increased global warming. If we continue to fight over and burn all the fossil fuel on the planet, we won’t have a planet capable of supporting life as we know it.

Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. 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. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.

We are at a time in history where everyone with any insight of the climate crisis that threatens our civilisation, and the entire biosphere, must speak out in clear language, no matter how uncomfortable and unprofitable that may be. We must change almost everything in our current societies. The bigger your platform, the bigger your responsibility to stand up and speak. The bigger your carbon footprint, the bigger your moral duty. Some people hate hearing these words and react viciously.

“When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning!” For those of us who would rather not know about climate change, it’s easy to cut down Gretta Thunberg and climate activists when, with all good intention, all they are trying to do is get us to listen to the science. Any thinking person should respect that.

Greta Thunberg's global climate movement: It’s Greta’s World but, it’s still burning. The extraordinary rise of a 16-year-old, and her Hail Mary climate movement. - Everyone should read this article in Intelligencer Magazine

CLIMATE ACTIVISTS

Climate anxiety is driven by the inaction of our politicians to reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions, the main driver of global warming. It’s extremely important to get in the face of those same politicians and, for media coverage to advance public awareness. We need a responsible phase-out of fossil fuels and we need it now!

Greta Thunberg in August of 2018 alone in her fight. She is not alone anymore!

Extinction Rebellion Australia

School Strike for Climate

"We spend a lot of effort to be educated, when our governments are not listening to the educated".

“What’s the point of me studying science, when all you do is ignore it?”
“What’s the point of training to be an athlete, when I won’t have clean air to breathe?”
“What’s the point of studying history, when all of humanity is heading towards becoming history?”

By the time the next election comes around, these children will be young adults and old enough to vote. It’s their world. Join the global revolution on the front line. Engage in climate strikes if you can. That’s how critically important this is. For your own protection though, please read the Extinction Rebellion legal guidelines.

For the rest of us, it is also extremely important to work behind the scenes and spread climate and political awareness so that we can make informed decisions. That’s what we are aiming to do right here and right now.

Our country and our boarders are under threat from an unstoppable force if we do nothing to act on climate change. If it was an invading army, we would rally together and fight to the death to protect our country. So, what’s stopping us? It seems crazy our politicians are doing nothing. Why! What is it? What's blocking them?

WHAT DRIVES THE LACK OF POLITICAL WILL

From former U.S. Vice President Al Gore

Now, while our children are fighting for their future, lets look at stark reality in the grown-up world:- As we are becoming more and more aware of the impact of global warming and climate change manifested in unprecedented and extreme weather events, we are also becoming more concerned about the lack of climate action by government. Primarily predatory corporate governments who cater to the demands of profit focused big business rather than the impact on society.

This can be explained in a presentation by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney who points out that scared Central Banks are now facing up to the threat from climate change. He describes climate change as a tragedy on the horizon. He warned that a global political movement against global warming was building momentum and could sow the seeds of a financial crisis. Overall losses to weather catastrophe and insurance losses have increased 20 fold from 1981, and 10 fold since 2001, to $475 billion in 2017.

This lack of political will translates into a concerted effort by government to deny the climate science in support of one of the most powerful industries on the planet. The fossil fuel industry. So, it’s a deceit by our elected representatives! Our government is lying to us on behalf of vested corporate interests and, just like Mark Carney, we need to consider that.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore can tell us precisely whats stopping us taking action on climate change. It’s a lack of political will driven by the influence of big business and powerful vested interests. So, climate inaction is money driven. Why some governments act on climate change and other governments don’t, boils down to who the government represents and who influences the government the most. So, it’s about manipulation of politicians and the political system to favour a few. Al Gore sees it in America and we are experiencing the same thing here in Australia.

The world is facing a "planetary emergency" with regard to climate change. "We already have everything we need to use the sun, the wind, hydro, geothermal power, conservation and efficiency to solve the climate crisis — everything, that is, except political will. We need to question that and find out what drives this destructive environmental, economic and deadly lack of will.

Al Gore is a humanitarian and climate champion and, he understands how the world works. In the White House, he was right in the thick of it. He understands that the real power on the planet are the giant corporations and industrialists and, with their financial clout they have the most influence on government. We need to understand that conservative right-wing governments are, by nature, the political arm of big business and pander to the top end of town. Collectively, among the richest and most powerful corporations on the planet, are the fossil fuel industries. So, climate denial is self serving and, once again, it’s profit driven.

U.S. President Donald Trump has wound back almost every environmental protection in America in favour of a profit grab by big business. Google it.

DONALD TRUMPS CORPORATE SHADOW CABINET

President-Elect Donald Trump‘s cabinet and top nominees draw more deeply from an extremist faction of the corporate class than any in memory, and likely in history. We are witnessing the wholesale corporate takeover of the American government. Once again, Google it.

From Al Gore:- In terms of climate action, how did this no-brainer become a brain-twister? Because the carbon fuels industry — big oil, gas and coal — have a 50-year lease on right wing conservative politicians and political parties, and they are drilling it for everything it's worth. And, this same industry has spent a half a billion dollars this year alone trying to convince the public that global warming is not man made and/or climate change doesn’t exist. They deny the irrefutable scientific evidence and, they are in fact making things worse every single day.

Look at what the corporates do to keep their politicians in power. It’s a well established and proven strategy including the politics of fear and false narrative right here in the land of OZ. Throw money at the church to win the religious vote. Pay mainstream media to denigrate the opposition. Bribe the electorate. Control public discourse with shock jock propaganda. Dumb down the electorate with sport, gambling, alcohol, consumerism and sexy girls on page three of Murdoch’s newspapers. It keeps us distracted.

The shortfall in climate change coverage exposes the ugly, irresponsible side of modern journalism, particularly the corporate kind and reinforces that mainstream media are part of the climate problem. The head in the sand or climate denial, to protect vested fossil fuel interests, is political/corporate agenda driven and will only hasten our slide into climate catastrophe.

One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us, at election time, to change course. It's not a guarantee; it's only an opportunity. The question facing us is, simply put, will we seize this opportunity for change? Or, will we once again be sidelined by vested interest promoting fossil fuel and profit in favour of climate action and our future.

In Australia, the right wing LNP government won the 2019 election by 2 seats without any policies. In the lead up, they shut down government motivated by the improper and unlawful purpose of "stymying parliament" to avoid debate on contentious and embarrassing issues. The election was won in Queensland, the home of Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing media monopoly and Clive Palmer’s $60 million dollar campaign to preference the Liberal National Party.

It was won with lies about jobs and the economy. It was also won with what Transparency International would call vote-buying. Every worker received a $1080 tax cash back if they voted for the LNP Morrison government. The catch-phrase was:- “Vote for us and we’ll give you back some of your hard earned money”. It just proves how starved we are.

Add to that a vicious main stream media attack to undermine any opposition and there’s your election win. Cut down the Labor leader, cut down climate action Independents and, make Green a dirty word. Another term in government with no economic policies and no action on climate change. The election campaign was contrived and heavily funded by powerful corporations who stood to gain more money, more power and more control over the direction of our society.

That control managed to persuade enough of us to votes against public health and dental care, public education, our kids futures, the planet, the environment, youth well-being, sanity, full time employment, incomes, savings, infrastructure and affordable housing. How do you get people to do that because, that’s what we have done by voting for a predatory corporate government rather than a government with a social conscience and a sense of humanity.

It you think democracy has been hijacked by corporates to serve corporates then, I'm suggesting you are probably right. That’s why this government struggles to run the country, it’s not their real job and, their caustic politics is a deceit that we no longer have time for! We need a government that promotes a responsible transition to renewable clean energy as we phase out our dependence on fossil fuels.

THE POLITICAL ARM OF BIG BUSINESS

If a pro climate action government had won the last election Australia would not be part of Trumps armada against Iran fighting for control of oil and natural gas being plundered from war torn Yemen, by U.S. client state Saudi Arabia. We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis. We would be fighting for middle-income families. 3 million Australians would not be living below the poverty line.

We would not be showing contempt for democratic principals and our Constitution; (Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and human rights protection to name a few). We'd be protecting the rights of every Australian regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. And we would not be denying the climate crisis. We would be solving it!

Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced last election and the one before. We want the same things. We don’t want a government ready to sacrifice the long term for the short term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the wealthy and powerful few and, short-circuit the rule of law. (No federal ICAC or corruption watchdog)? Why, what are our federal politicians afraid of?

We need to fight for smarter government that trusts the market but protects us against its excesses; enact policies that are pro-choice, pro-education and pro-family; establish a foreign policy that is smart as well as strong; provide health care for all and solutions for the climate crisis. That is not a government whose priority is to represents big business and the financial elite to secure re-election funds. How can we trust politicians in it for themselves, the spoils of office and their own agenda?

The powers that be and the status quo are desperately afraid of losing control. There is no better example than the climate crisis. Al Gore hit the nail on the head. We are involved in devastating oil wars around the world and burn fossil fuel in ways that destroy the future of human civilization. Every bit of that has to change. Oil company profits have soared to record levels, petrol prices have gone through the roof and we are more dependent than ever on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels.

Our political and legal system was set up by industrialists to serve industrialists and, they have had plenty of time to perfect it. The most powerful and richest corporations and industrialists on the planet are driving their own agenda and, controlling government and public discourse is just a factored in business expense. Through Donald Trumps U.S. Secretary of State, their influence is far reaching. All the way to the shores of Australia to, once again, dictate our foreign policy.

Military experts warn us our national security is threatened by massive waves of refugees destabilizing countries around the world, and scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by unprecedented extinctions. We are rapidly moving into the sixth mass global extinction event and, it’s driven by human activity. Climate scientists predict that the entire north polar ice cap may be completely gone during summer months within 10 years. Sea levels are rising, fires are raging, storms are stronger and more frequent.

We are facing a planetary emergency which, if not solved, would exceed anything we've ever experienced in the history of humankind. The superpowers infiltrate both sides of politics. In spite of open-mindedness on the climate crisis, Labor’s greenhouse gas pollution reduction target of 45% are proposed to be cut back instead of rapidly ratcheted up to at least 65% by 2030, to be in line with the science.

Instead of letting lobbyists and polluters control our destiny, we need to invest in innovation. We need to invest in renewable clean energy and carbon capture technology. Almost a hundred years ago, Thomas Edison said, "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power!

This administration and the special interests who control it lock, stock and barrel after barrel, have performed this same sleight of hand on issue after issue. Tobacco, gambling, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and, fossil fuels. Some of the best marketers have the worst products; and this is certainly true of today's conservative politicians. The LNP itself has on its rolls men and women of great quality. But the last 7 years demonstrate that the special interests who have come to control the LNP are so powerful that serving them and serving the national well-being are now incompatible choices.

Global superpowers and the government front men are still blocking action on climate change in favour of big oil, the fossil fuel industry and the arms manufacturers involved in the wars for control of depleting oil and natural gas reserves.

Historians will look back on the 100 years between 1950 and 2050 and call it the era of the oil wars. A dark period in human history with countries destroyed and millions of innocent people murdered or displaced as refugees. Look at the oil wars raging right now around the world: The war in Yemen for control of 2.7 billion barrels of oil. The one Australia is now involved in. The Israel & Palestinian conflict to control 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The war in Syria for 2.5 billion barrels of oil, Afghanistan for 1 billion barrels of oil and 52 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and the war in Libya to control 46 billion barrels of oil with a street value of 2.5 trillion dollars.

Venezuela with 297 billion barrels of oil has the larges oil reserve on the planet with global superpowers vying for control, escalating the South American refugee crisis and destroying another country in the process. In the world of fighting for control of oil and natural gas, and here’s the shock, it’s business as usual. They don’t care about the death and destruction of societies and the murder of the innocent. All they care about is money, power and control at any cost to humanity. They most certainly don’t care about the future, our future. It will never enter their heads.

Wherever untapped precious natural resources can still be extracted from the sea and ground is where opposing military forces, from East and West, are lining up. It's driving global militarization. As globalization and the western alliance falters, Russia and China are moving closer together. A potential U.S. led coalition war with the East, a war lubricated by oil, natural gas, arms manufacture and tax payers money presents an unthinkable possibility. It’s a war we may not win!

If we burn all the fossil fuel, we are fighting over, we won’t have a planet capable of supporting life as we know it so, we will definitely lose that one. With the escalating oil wars combined with climate change, we are under attack on two fronts. The solution for both problems is a responsible transition to renewable clean energy. Take away the demand for fossil fuels, diffuse the oil wars and, cap CO2 emissions.

Western Democracy: We need to be aware that we live with a political system that can be manipulated and corrupted to serve powerful corporations and industrialists. A system that needs the reinstatement of democratic principals, to serve all of society, if we wish to avoid perpetual war and the full catastrophic impact of man made global warming.

THE ECONOMIC COST OF INACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE:

This does not include the cost to tax payers of building the monumentally huge war machine required in the global conflicts for control of depleting oil and natural gas reserves. A cost being inflicted on Australia right now! This economic projection is just the monetary cost to humanity if we do nothing about the catastrophic impact of man made global warming. Now referred to as global heating!

From Columbia University economist Kent Daniel, Gernot Wagner associate professor at New York University’s Department of Environmental Studies and Robert Litterman, formerly head of the quantitative investment strategies group at banking giant Goldman Sachs and, specialist in risk management.

If we wait a year to implement an effective global carbon tax, the estimated cost of additional climate-change impacts will reach approximately $1 trillion globally. If we wait five years, that swells to $24 trillion. A 10-year delay is projected to cost the world $100 trillion in damage from extreme weather events including loss of profit and capital from unprecedented heat waves, droughts, wild fires, hurricanes, floods, loss of habitat, coastal ocean inundation, climate refugees and loss of life.

CO2 into the atmosphere as a result of human activity for 2019 will be about 40 billion tones. The global cost of the impact of climate warming will be $1 trillion or $25 per tone. In 5 years time, the cost to the world will rise to $24 trillion or $120 per tone of CO2 and in 10 years, a staggering $100 trillion or $250 per tone of CO2 released into the atmosphere over that 10 year period and rising exponentially if we do nothing.

Clearly, we cant let the fossil fuel industry, and their political arm, keep pushing the world down this path for their own profit and, at monumentally huge cost to every country and every single person on the planet. We need to implement a carbon tax now to save us from the unimaginable cost latter!

It’s our future, it’s our children’s future, it's the future of the planet and all life is on the line. Clean energy from the sun, wind and hydro or fossil fuel and war. It’s a pretty simple choice and one that needs to ripple through society and across the entire planet.

As Australians, we must ask ourselves, do we really need to be tangled up in this war mongering, planet destroying and economic madness being dictated by Big Oil, the fossil fuel industry, war economies and cohort governments? If not, we can't stop the ravages of corporate greed or the self serving of big business but, we can certainly use the ballot box to push for change.

LISTEN TO THE SCIENCE - VOTE FOR THE FUTURE

The science is proven and does not lie. Only corrupted political front men and the corporate propaganda machine lie to your face. Right now, the future of the planet is in our hands and we really need to work out what's important.

If there is any meaning to life at all then, it's not about “them” or “us”. It's about what we pass on to our children that should override everything else. We pass the baton of life to our children, we don't take it to the grave with us. We need to strengthen our children, acknowledge their achievements, reward their good behaviour, build them up and, most importantly, give them a future. Give them a future so they can fulfil their dreams and their ideals and aspiration.

Climate change is not the only threat facing our children. Hand in hand with climate change denial we are seeing signs of political and corporate collusion and corruption hijacking our democracy. Along with rampant nationalism, the oligarchic control of wealth, politics, media and public discourse explains the comprehensive institutional failure now pushing us towards climate disaster. As all time temperature records tumble and the Amazon and arctic circle burn.

We have a choice. There is a monumental real life battle going on that spans the globe and impacts every single one of us. It’s a battle between what’s right and what’s wrong for humanity and the future for the natural world. This is the choice: “Keep fighting over and burning fossil fuel, to darken the planet, or transition to renewable clean energy and save us”. We can achieve this by making individual choices that are environmentally sustainable and, by backing politicians and companies who embrace urgent climate action.

In the words of Damien Cave, New York Times bureau chief in Sydney - May 19th 2019: From someone with their finger on the political pulse: "Climate change may be the first battle in the long war that is reshaping democracy all over the world".

Down through the ages, each new era has met with bitter resistance. From whale blubber oil lamps to electricity, from horse and cart to automobiles, from manual labour to mechanization, from analogue to digital and, from fossil fuel to renewable clean energy. Human nature never really changes as we are learning.

U.S. President Donald Trumps' state dinner for Australian PM Scott Morrison along with invited guests, right-wing media moguls, Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Stokes coincides with the global Student Climate Strikes to telegraph that the battle to save the planet is heating up and, we have a rather large choice to make.

IT'S IN OUR HANDS

I’m sorry but the excuses for climate inaction have now gone far beyond legitimate scepticism toward grotesque collective irresponsibility in the face of a huge problem that will plague every human being who comes after us. The generational injustice is massive.

The choice is this:- Do we follow the Morrison government and go hand in hand with U.S. President Donald Trump, and the worlds largest oil and war economy, to keep fighting over and burning fossil fuel or, do we support our children and start working towards a carbon free economy?

The threat of global warming has now reached crisis level and, passivity, in a time of crisis, is complicity. It is a moral failure. Crises demand that we actively engage; that we rise to the challenge; that we do our best. We have less than 10 years to change course as we consider our moral obligation to the future.

IN SUMMING UP

Our democracy has been hijacked by a handful of powerful corporations and industrialists who serve themselves with the support of a de-facto right wing state media. Who are the biggest and most powerful corporations on the planet? That would be the fossil fuel industry and the associated war industry. Unpick what drives our politician and it all comes back to control of oil and natural gas reserves and maintaining the dominance of coal in the energy mix.

The big players on the planet are China, Russia, the USA and Big Oil. The oil wars raging right now in Yemen, Israel/Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Venezuela are about driving competing global super powers to the negotiating table, on behalf of huge and powerful corporations, to divvy up the spoils of war. So, it’s profit driven. Money, power and control at any cost to humanity with our politician as the impervious front men and tax payers financing the murderous conflicts on behalf of those same giant corporations.

For the first time ever, we are in a position to win back democracy from corrupted corporate agenda governments. We need to install a bi-partisan government with a sense of humanity and a view to the future. We have a choice and the choice is this: "Perpetual war and keep burning all the fossil fuel we are fighting over, to darken our world, or transition to renewable clean energy and save us". Save us from the catastrophic impact of man made global heating and the oppression of a corrupted authoritarian government pushing fossil fuel down our throat for vested interests.

SOME ADVICE

Don’t let this consume you. We are still the lucky generations. We reap the benefits of mans most amazing advances in technology and we can still enjoy a wonderful natural environment. Live your beautiful life and enjoy it. Our time in the sun doesn’t last very long.

What's important is that we listen to the science and give our grand-children and future generations the same opportunity to live and enjoy their life.

Go to the next article: Ice Melt and Rising Oceans