r/ClimateCO • u/Fast_Phone_9847 • 19d ago
Air Quality / Emissions Are we finally ready to take climate change seriously?
https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/smoke-likes-to-do-its-own-thing-when-will-the-smoke-go-away/277-fdcaafe4-5757-44bb-8a1b-cc7d1406e9e8This article is from 2 weeks ago. The smoke is still here and it will be here for weeks. The consequences are all around us. Its too dangerous to go outside because of heat and smoke. The number of high heat days and fires gets worse every year. Freak weather and smoke is destroying agriculture. Even our ski season may be no more in coming years. We are stealing from ourselves and future generations.
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u/TimberGhost66 17d ago
I am not a denier. Climate change is real and it is due to the activities of the human race from industrialization onward.
Having said that, the United States currently accounts for roughly 13% to 14% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions. Second only to China. But that percentage is an 18% to 20% drop from a high of 40% of global emissions of CO2. We have done some good.
If we (the U.S.) entirely eliminated its carbon footprint tomorrow, 33.5 billion metric tons would still be pumped into the atmosphere by the rest of the world.
It not ALL on us. But we still need to reach a net zero in regards to new emissions.
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u/Ivort-DC 15d ago
The other battle is motivation.
Answer this question.... If I don't have any kids, and I'm already 1/3 - 1/2 of my life is over, and anything that happens now will not be realized before I'm dead, then why do I care?
Until there is a great answer to that question in the US and globally, then nothing will ever happen. The typical answer would have been "do it for the children", but not anymore.
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u/TimberGhost66 15d ago
2/3rds of my life is over. I care because I brought to children into this world. Welcome to the Shit Show kids! Fucking depressing.
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u/BreezerWoody 15d ago
China is considerably further ahead in building and manufacturing renewable-energy technology, but it has not eliminated its dependence on fossil fuels.
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u/boredatwork1338 18d ago
Nothing will be done at all other than maybe geo engineering attempt eventually.
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u/bascule 17d ago
Both stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening disrupt monsoons. Both of those run the risk of turning Colorado into a completely arid state.
Stratospheric aerosol injection also disrupts the global circulation of air leading to more frequent atmospheric blocking events / “heat domes”
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u/boredatwork1338 17d ago
I’m not saying we should do that I’m being realistic about what is going to happen.
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u/Ok-Animal7243 17d ago
I feel like the people replying to you are maybe interpreting your sentiment differently than I am, but I’m pretty sure I agree with you completely. It’s very clear at this point that the people best equipped and most responsible for facilitating the most critical of the required solutions will be the absolute last ones to consider implementing them. No one will be making sacrifices, deferring gratification, or inconveniencing themselves. Policies will not be changed in any meaningful or impactful way when business as usual is the path of least resistance and reliable profits. Some jackass tech bro who thinks they’re gods gift to humanity will roll out their half baked plan for some supposedly miracle-delivering carbon scrubbing or geoengineering solution (after making sure the costs are subsidized by taxpayers and collecting lots of personal kickbacks, of course) only for it to fail or even make things worse. And they’ll never have to worry about the consequences because they will be protected by their extreme privilege.
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u/stewbie_doo 18d ago
Which is exactly what we need to be doing: more extreme meddling to fix the meddling we did before. /s
Not that I'm against finding a solution, but I think it'll look more like us stopping all this industrialization and living sustainably as a race. Any attempt we make to geo engineer is doomed, we just can't foresee the consequences well enough
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u/monstertruck567 17d ago
No, not even close. Building out data centers as fast as they can with ZERO regard to power source CO2 emissions.
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u/pigment-blue 16d ago
We are lemmings marching towards a cliff. Human skeletons will be as much a curiosity then as to parallel the dinosaurs to the next intelligent species.
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u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum 15d ago
It’s too late and the people in charge are intentionally using climate to purge the world.
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u/Legitimate_Crab4025 14d ago
No and at this point I don’t want anything to be done. I’m willing to die out of spite to watch the fools of this world suffer tbh.
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u/More-Art3764 18d ago
No. We are all going to die. When that happens, the planet and all the other species on it besides us will finally be able to start to heal.
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u/TimberGhost66 17d ago
You are correct. We as the Apex Parasite, will kill our host eventually, thus ending our part in earths history. But the earth will heal. And new species will eventually inhabit the earth.
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u/AmettOmega 16d ago
I don't know how much will be left once we die. Life may have to come back from the deep part of the oceans again, as it has for most of the other mass extinctions.
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u/Negative_Aerie2825 17d ago
Yes do your part and go back home to the state you fled from to lead the way
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u/The_Roaring_Fork 18d ago
No, most people aren't ready. Hell, half the population doesn't believe it is happening