Oh… I was starting to think we might have more time before these feedback loops multiply and all of the IPCC’s targets go from “still achievable” to “criminally corrupt fabrications” in the blink of an eye… Goodie.
Give it to me straight. We are fucked aren’t we?
We are totally fucked.
Permafrost melting in Alaska was making river run orange last year, and we’ve now got ‘zombie fires’ in Alaska where underground permafrost deposits spread forest fires basically underground due to off gassing.
The Amazon is still being destroyed.
Mass coral bleaching events are more frequent and worse.
Thwaites glacier in Antarctica is melting even faster than we previously thought.
We broke through the 1.5 C barrier earlier this year with Feb 2023 to Jan 2024 being +1.52 C above average.
Basically, we have a decade or two of things being ‘somewhat normal’ as society is still mostly stable in wealthier nations, but disasters increase in intensity and frequency and basically everyone other than the uber wealthy does worse and worse… while poorer countries will see tens or hundreds of millions becoming climate refugees internationally, further fueling international tensions.
The way I’ve heard it described is that the collapse will be seen as tiktok videos and insta posts of insane shit happening far from you, then nearer, then quite nearby, then its happening to you.
Some nations or locales may hold out longer than others, but so far things are basically escalating out of control faster than all but the ‘worse case scenario’ models.
extinction rebellion recently did demonstration here in finland, against destruction of swamps and peat burning by painting the pillars of parlament house red.
What I find annoying about this is that its not enough, even small child achieves more with its wailing. People just laugh derisively and insult them for disrupting their morning coffee with news of such.
Protest doesn’t work if the people responsible can ignore it. Same reason why blocking traffic just pisses off commuters - some employees being late one day doesn’t affect the schmucks who demand everyone be there at nine sharp.
As an example of success, a New York City garbage strike ended when people threatened to drive past the mayor’s house and chuck it in his yard. Nobody even did anything. They just floated the idea, and all of a sudden that contract dispute didn’t seem so important.