The COP-out we can’t afford
One week on from COP21, Mark Pershin and Kari McGregor weigh in on the false promises of a flaccid agreement that leaves behind the innocent and most vulnerable.
Read moreTag Archives: climate change
Less Meat = Less Heat
We have known about human-caused climate change for well over a century, and have had in operation a global framework for dealing with it for well over two decades, yet we are still failing to stop or even slow down its advance toward catastrophe.
Read moreThe Politics of Addressing Climate Change
There is no politically viable response to climate change.
For a response to be politically viable it would have to be politically appealing. A response that politicians know won’t kill their career. That means a response that people would vote for, one that is supported by economists and corporate leaders. And people vote for things they like the sound of, not policies that are likely to pull the rug out from under their way of life.
Read moreAre we prepared to change to prevent climate change?
What is needed to get us out of our comfort zone and fight for our children’s future?
Consume less, share more and stand up against fossil fuels, urban sprawl, destructive infrastructures and resource extractivism. And, above all, fight for an economy that can fulfil everyone’s basic needs within the natural boundaries of a healthy planet.
Read more10 Countries Most Affected by Climate Change
Of course there is no place on Earth that will emerge unscathed from the effects of climate change. But there are some places where the effects will be felt more keenly than others. Large parts of some countries will become inundated when sea levels rise, leaving them uninhabitable and their populations displaced. Cycles of drought and flooding will impact food security, forcing populations to migrate away from unproductive agricultural land.
Read moreClimate Change and the Triune Response
I went through three phases in my awareness of our planetary predicament. I don’t know if there’s a fourth, or a fifth, but I have been through three. It’s like opening up a set of Russian dolls; each one might be the last one, but then you open it up and descend another layer. I call it the Triune Response, after the Triune (three-in-one) model of brain evolution that categorizes the human brain into three stages of development – first the reptilian complex, second the limbic system, and third the neocortex. The four levels of experience can conceptualized as mental, emotional, physical and spiritual fit these correspondingly.
Read moreClimate Change: The Situation is Hopeless… Let’s Take the Next Step
Part of the reason why climate scepticism has been so effective is that we all want the science to be false. We all want to forget about climate change and in fact remove that term from our lexicon altogether. Many do not want to think about radically altering their lives and the uncertainty that comes with change. Even for those who do, there is no obvious path for surviving (let alone flourishing) outside of the market society that has come to order all aspects of our lives.
Read moreGoing Beyond Coal: A People-Powered Movement
Coal, Australia’s #1 export and much-touted bringer of economic growth, is at the centre of controversy in Australia’s rural heartland, and the movement to take on Big Coal is gathering steam.
Read moreClimate Action Summit 2014: Sowing the Seeds of a Movement
Clearly what we’ve been doing as responsible citizens and climate activists has not been working as well as we hoped it would; we haven’t built the powerful people’s movement we need for strong climate action. It is time for a new approach – not a shifting of the goalposts, but an attempt to tackle the goal from a different angle.
Read morePlanetary Boundaries: A Framework for Staying Cool, Calm and Connected
If life on earth was a nine hole game of golf, humans have hit three balls out of bounds, we just got out of the bunker on the fourth, are facing major hazards up ahead on the next three and we have two holes that we are currently playing blindfolded.
We will need to have a much better understanding of the field of play and the rules that apply, and play as best and fairly as we can. Cheating will not be tolerated by that ultimate umpire we call Nature.
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