Well, the feeling is now that the odds are better than 50% that we’re not going to keep global warming below 1.5 C. It’s no real surprise – it’s 26 years since the Kyoto accord and for a lot of political voices that’s just been 26 years of droning on that the science is all wrong, or if it’s not wrong then the problem is overstated, or if it isn’t overstated then it’s ok we can solve it all with carbon capture technologies that just haven’t been fully developed yet. Or are still at the drawing board and calculation phase. That is just wishful thinking.
It could make one depressed – watching ourselves tinkering at the green edges and refusing to do the harder work. You know what? Banning plastic bags is not going to save the world. Organic coffee isn’t going to do it either – tinkering at the edges. It’s what we do to avoid the big issues because they’ll need tough and unpopular solutions. Should we just give up then? Well – things can get better. Acid rain and the ozone layer were both addressed with pollution controls and certain materials being banned. Things can be fixed.
Graham Nash, on new song ‘Better Life’, also says no to despair. He doesn’t underestimate that “with a lot of hard work there’s a world to gain.” He also suggests that it is the younger generations that are going to be instrumental in the solution if their elders really can’t do more than talk. The visualiser animation by Jeff Scher makes some suggestions on what to do – more renewable energy, more train journeys less cars, and hey, if you want an easy one to do at home how about not running one’s tumble dryer on record hot summer days?
