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Climate Change. Our Failure.

Lake Mead is drying up. The hottest temperatures ever recorded in London. Sparking unprecedented wildfires across Europe. The sea level consistently continues to not only rise but rise even faster as time goes on. The Western Antarctic Ice Sheet may totally collapse at the end of this century. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are higher now then they have been in more then 2 million years.

We've wasted decades of precious time doing almost nothing. Conservatives denied the scientific data for decades and still continue to do so. Their excuses growing more absurd as the effects of climate change become more extreme with the passage of time. Many governments of the world have had little success pushing impactful global warming legislation. Over the last century our collective negligence has created an impending climate change apocalypse for our children to live in and we are all responsible.
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SW-User
All I will say is that a tipping point has been reached regarding EVs, America has just passed legislation for the first time in decades. Where America leads the rest may follow. Signs of change are everywhere. Governments can do a lot more, and soon they will have to.

It's going to get worse before it gets better for sure, but I refuse to give up hope.
QueenOfZaun · 26-30, F
@SW-User I fear we have already run out of time
Elessar · 26-30, M
@SW-User Too little and too late
SW-User
@QueenOfZaun Youfear we have. But what does "running out of time" actually mean?
QueenOfZaun · 26-30, F
@SW-User The damage is too great to repair. Even if we got carbon emissions to zero right now in this moment. The carbon we’ve already pumped into the atmosphere for the last few centuries would perpetuate for generations. And that’s if we got it to zero.
SW-User
@QueenOfZaun Oh I agree that carbon will need to be sequestered. It can be done with the right will.
QueenOfZaun · 26-30, F
@SW-User Blind optimism
SW-User
@QueenOfZaun Well, I also think you are being blindly fatalistic and have decided that nothing can be done. Does that mean you'll be eating red meat, driving cars, flying, throwing away plastic, etc. because there's no point...?
Elessar · 26-30, M
@SW-User There's no deployable technology atm that could sequester the amount of carbon that needs to be eliminated from the atmosphere
QueenOfZaun · 26-30, F
@SW-User My opinion has nothing to do with emotion. I follow what the scientific data says. Even if we were to invent some giant science fiction machine that sucked all the carbon out of the air. It would take thousands of years to do it. We’re talking about the air and atmosphere surrounding the entire planet. We’re not talking about a section of sky above your house lol
SW-User
@QueenOfZaun Restoring peatlands, reforestation, soil restoration. All these things will take huge gulps of CO2 from the air. One of the most exciting areas of sequestration is restoring the kelp beds. They fix huge amounts of carbon and grow astonishingly quickly. But of course, all fixes will take decades. There is no magic bullet, on that I agree. But we will eventually get our shit together and our efforts will eventually bear fruit.
QueenOfZaun · 26-30, F
@SW-User You say decades. Actual scientists say thousands of years. I'm gonna side with the scientists.
SW-User
@QueenOfZaun Well, let's hope you're wrong. Unexpected things can happen extremely quickly, for good or ill, if governments put their minds to something. Btw a good place to start would be reducing methane emissions. That's a very VERY potent GHG but only remains in the atmosphere a few months.
LizOwen · 41-45, F
@SW-User I don't think America is leading; it's following what much of the world is already trying to do. The difference is that the USA is the second worst polluter, therefore one of the main causes of the global catastrophe.
SW-User
@LizOwen but it is doing more now than it has done for decades. But yes it needs to catch up and fast
LizOwen · 41-45, F
@SW-User Let's hope so. If the US puts their money where their mouth is, things might improve.
SW-User
@LizOwen Big Finance is just as important as Big Oil, if not more so
LizOwen · 41-45, F
@SW-User No disagreement from me, there.