Conversation

We presently face the most radical of challenges to the continuation of a livable biosphere — and indeed to humanity’s existence as a species — and therefore I believe the most radical response is justified and is urgently required.

First: Nationalize and then shut down the fossil fuel industry, the airlines, and the factory farms. The US military budget also must be deeply slashed, as they are the world's biggest single source of institutional emissions.

When I say shut down all those industries, I don't mean literally overnight. I realize of course that we can't stop burning fossil fuels instantly. I'm suggesting, however, a very rapid reduction, something on the order of 20% per year, meaning after five years we are down to zero. TRUE zero, not the phony greenwashed “net-zero.”

Second: Confiscate all previous financial holdings from fossil fuel corporations, their executives and their major investors, and dedicate a portion of those funds to easing the transition for employees of the shuttered industries. The remaining funds can help countries in the Global South raise standards of living without expanding use of fossil fuels.

Third: Let the dust settle, see where we are with emissions, and maybe then consider deploying some solar geoengineering techniques, but only as a last resort.

Now, you might be concerned that many people would suffer and have to endure hardships if and when we shut down the fossil fuel industry and the airlines and the factory farms — and you’re right, they would.

However, that’s almost nothing compared to how many people will suffer and how great their hardships will be in the next few decades if we DON’T do all those things now.

Would this plan be easy to accomplish? No, not at all. Would it cause inconvenience and misery? Yes, certainly. Real change comes at a real cost.

Sorry to say it, but the choice we face is between a very bad outcome and a very VERY bad outcome.

#Politics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #CO2 #Emissions #ClimateJustice