I am (slightly) less pessimistic than David Letterman. If, however, it is indeed “too late” as he says, then he has certainly nailed the reason: “We have had no leadership.”
But I’m going to view the glass as one-tenth full and take it as a hopeful sign that somebody relatively mainstream like Letterman would break out of his normally uber-ironic mindset to tell it like it is on global warming.
Related Posts:
- Media enable denier spin 2: What if the MSM simply can’t cover humanity’s self-destruction?
- Must read IEA report, Part 1: Act now with clean energy or face 6°C warming. Cost is NOT high — media blows the story
- Is 450 ppm politically possible? Part 6: What the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner bill debate tells us
- Is 450 ppm politically possible? Part 0: The alternative is humanity’s self-destruction
Previous in TP Climate Progress
Letterman for President!
I think the line “We are dead meat” is probably more accurate.
More like cooked meat….
Methane Burps: Ticking Time Bomb
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/3647
Arctic ‘methane chimneys’ raise fears of runaway climate change
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/23/climatechange.scienceofclimatechange1
Time for direct action….
What You and I Can Do
http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/Seg/PB3ch13_ss7.htm
The problem is not just lack of leadership, it’s the hyper-polarized nature of the discussion about global warming (and peak oil, for that matter). Look around the online world and see how insanely “us vs. them” these discussions have become, or listen to almost any talk radio show, for as long as you can stand it. We’ve segregated ourselves into the willfully ignorant and hyperconnected, and the latter group tends to listen to nothing but those people they agree with. We’ve forgotten how to shut the **** up and LISTEN to each other, and we treat real life like a bad parody of the talking heads political shows with people trying to score cheap points by yelling over each other.
Thanks to blogs and the ability of the hyperconnected to flood discussions with half(or less)-truths, the biggest single road block to effective communication could very well be the Internet.
If that’s not irony on steroids, I don’t know what is.
Joe,
Thanks for this wonderful blog!
The part on Pickens was helpful to me recently.
PS:
Joe could you please comment on this article?
In the Opinion section of the WSJ: “Gore’s REbellion”
Apparently he’s advocating that young people do civil disobedience to prevent new coal facilities being built. Can you please fact-check their argument for us?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122264832997183967.html
Zan, you must have missed it. Joe blogged on that already:
http://climateprogress.org/2008/09/25/gore-calls-for-civil-disobedience-to-stop-coal-but-will-he-lead-like-gandhi-and-king/#more-3872
I know that gubernator Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a fine champion for this cause.
It looks like he is smart enough to know where his leadership is needed. Perhaps his greatest role ever.
http://climate.weather.com/articles/schwarzenegger092901.html
so it’s a western leadership problem rather than a massive Asian growth problem where they have a huge population and are ramping up concrete and coal as fast as they can?
the west is not in the drivers seat anymore. We’re just along for the ride.
Well, we could start seqquestering carbon in the form of biochar. Put it deep underground.
rjm, we Americans create a lot more greenhouse gas per person than do Asians.
We need to quit our bitchin’ about others and clean up our own house first.
We can set an example, create solutions, make significant headway and then we can assume the role of Great Navigator.
So much more useful than Great Hypocrite.
rjm, part of the huge growth in Chinese emissions is due to the fact that Americans (as well as others) have exported a huge portion of their carbon footprint to Asia. When was the last time you bought anything ‘made in America’? Items manufactured in China were most likely made with power from dirty coal fired plants and possibly with ‘conscripted’ labor. It’s time we quit pointing fingers at the rest of the world and do our part!
The surreal thing about this is how the audience keeps laughing all through. Scary.
Also, while it is quite refreshing to see someone actually getting as worked up about the issue as it deserves, I’m not sure that it’s such a good idea to hammer it into people’s heads that we are completely and irrevocably screwed already…
Jay Hakes has a terrific line in his new book, _A Declaration of Energy Independence_ (Paraphrase): To those who would say that the train has left the station, and we shouldn’t act, it might be pointed out that /there are many more trains poised to leave the station/.
Environmental policy = energy policy
Energy policy = environmental policy
because Global Warming
can lead to Hydrogen Sulfide gas coming out of the oceans.
Hydrogen Sulfide gas will Kill all people. Homo Sap will go
EXTINCT unless drastic action is taken.
October 2006 Scientific American
“EARTH SCIENCE
Impact from the Deep
Strangling heat and gases emanating from the earth and sea, not
asteroids, most likely caused several ancient mass extinctions.
Could the same killer-greenhouse conditions build once again?
By Peter D. Ward
downloaded from:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00037A5D-A938-150E-A93883414B7F0000&sc=I100322
………………..Most of the article omitted………………….
But with atmospheric carbon climbing at an annual rate of 2 ppm
and expected to accelerate to 3 ppm, levels could approach 900
ppm by the end of the next century, and conditions that bring
about the beginnings of ocean anoxia may be in place. How soon
after that could there be a new greenhouse extinction? That is
something our society should never find out.”
Press Release
Pennsylvania State University
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Nov. 3, 2003
downloaded from:
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2003/prPennStateKump.htm
“In the end-Permian, as the levels of atmospheric oxygen fell and
the levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide rose, the upper
levels of the oceans could have become rich in hydrogen sulfide
catastrophically. This would kill most of the oceanic plants and
animals. The hydrogen sulfide dispersing in the atmosphere would
kill most terrestrial life.”
http://www.astrobio.net is a NASA web zine. See:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=672
http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1535
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article2509.html
http://astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2429&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
These articles agree with the first 2. They all say 6 degrees C or
1000 parts per million CO2 is the extinction point.
The global warming is already 1.3 degree Farenheit. 11 degrees
Farenheit is about 6 degrees Celsius. The book “Six Degrees” by
Mark Lynas agrees. If the global warming is 6 degrees
centigrade, we humans go extinct. See:
http://www.marklynas.org/2007/4/23/six-steps-to-hell-summary-of-six-degrees-as-published-in-the-guardian
“Under a Green Sky” by Peter D. Ward, Ph.D., 2007.
Paleontologist discusses mass extinctions of the past and the one
we are doing to ourselves.
ALL COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS MUST BE
CONVERTED TO NUCLEAR IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID
THE EXTINCTION OF US HUMANS. 32 countries have
nuclear power plants. Only 9 have the bomb. The top 3
producers of CO2 all have nuclear power plants, coal fired power
plants and nuclear bombs. They are the USA, China and India.
Reducing CO2 production by 90% by 2050 requires drastic action
in the USA, China and India. King Coal has to be demoted to a
commoner. Coal must be left in the earth. If you own any coal
stock, NOW is the time to dump it, regardless of loss, because it
will soon be worthless.
I have no financial connection to the nuclear power industry.
Makes you wonder why he runs a racing team.
http://www.rahal.com/alms/team/3
With both presidential candidates promoting their environmental plans, it will be interesting to see if the election winner will actually follow through with the promises. With global warming, we will soon find out if western democratic nations can actually accomplish what needs to be done.
But I’m going to view the glass as one-tenth full and take it as a hopeful sign that somebody relatively mainstream like Letterman would break
Also, while it is quite refreshing to see someone actually getting as worked up about the issue as it deserves, I’m not sure that it’s such a good idea to hammer it into people’s heads that we are completely and irrevocably screwed already…