this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2025
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Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.

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Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.

As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades: Graph of temperature as observed with significant warming, and simulated without added greenhouse gases and other anthropogentic changes, which shows no significant warming

How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world: IPCC AR6 Figure 2 - Thee bar charts: first chart: how much each gas has warmed the world.  About 1C of total warming.  Second chart:  about 1.5C of total warming from well-mixed greenhouse gases, offset by 0.4C of cooling from aerosols and negligible influence from changes to solar output, volcanoes, and internal variability.  Third chart: about 1.25C of warming from CO2, 0.5C from methane, and a bunch more in small quantities from other gases.  About 0.5C of cooling with large error bars from SO2.

Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:

Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

democrats get pissed when we say both sides are the same and then just bend over backwards to anything the trump regime asks of them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago

That's not really a fair characterization of the situation.

All but seven Democrats did the right thing here by voting against the nominee. The vote also took place at the beginning of February, before the scale and scope of public anger over Trump's seizure of power became apparent.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago

There's also upsides to Luigi

[–] [email protected] 41 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Why does it surprise you that democrats are voting for Trump picks? The democrats are barely to the left of republicans. You people need to stop seeing them as an opposition party, because they've literally come out and said they don't want to be that.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You people need to stop seeing them as an opposition party, because they’ve literally come out and said they don’t want to be that.

Democrats in 2024: "We are the last defense you have against totalitarian fascism! We are the thin line between democracy and dictatorship! You want us on that wall! You need us on that wall!"

American voters: "After all the gerrymandering and disenfranchisement and other dirty tricks, we only gave the Republicans a three vote margin in the House and the Senate. See what you can do with that."

Democrats in 2025: "Rubber stamping everything the GOP throws across our desk. Resistance is futile. The best thing we can do is see how much money we can bilk from donors before 2026."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

we only gave the Republicans a three vote margin in the House and the Senate

Many USA states have the vote counting operated by oligarchs with no oversight, using tools that have no transparency or double checking, and the results fail exit polls.

This has been talked about for decades except not by the liberals in the USA. The Democratic Party has sidelined paper ballot progress, stomping down on criticisms of unfair ballot counts, while losing influence in large areas due to ballot manipulation.

The result after 30 years of this is that most American liberals scoff at human witnessed ballot counting, resist talking about it, and have no clue .

Nobody competent can cite voting results across all 50 states without using air quotes or cracking a joke

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Well, look at what happens even in liberal hotbeds like NYC and San Fransisco. Democrats are so obsessed with appeasing wealthy reactionaries that they'll do obnoxiously anti-popular moves like Hochul delaying congestion pricing (what a turn of face that's been) and Dianne Feinstein raising a Confederate Flag above the mayor's office.

How else do you get a crook like Eric Adams or Henry Cuellar or Bob Menendez in these positions of entrenched power without the party endlessly running cover for them. Fucking sickening.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No real leaders to rally about, anywhere, that I know about. Just a slow decline into increased corruption

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

No real leaders to rally about, anywhere

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

But real leadership still exists. I've got a great local DSA chapter here in Houston. There are a number of activist groups - Food Not Bombs leaps to mind - that do an incredible job of bringing popular politics to bare against entrenched capital interests. They just don't get a million-dollar kickback from the Heritage Society to produce mediocre rap videos with Tom MacDonald or put up a Whites Only orgy tent at Burning Man.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago

Kinda sorta. It took about two weeks of constituent pressure to get the Democrats to start behaving like an opposition party. So the early nominees got a lot of Democrats voting for them.

So there were a lot of votes like this in the first week of February. At this point, the only Senate Democrat pulling this kind of stunt is Fetterman

[–] [email protected] 64 points 2 days ago (3 children)

There are upsides.... humanity kills themselves and earth will recover eventually.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Or to our wealthy overlords ... it will kill off the "surplus population" and leave more room and resources for them.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago

The wealthy overlords require a multitude of cheap labor to retain their wealth. That's why they are so concerned about falling birth rates - listen to any of them talk about it, it has nothing to do with concern for the planet like any of the rest of us (less demand on resources that we are already depleting, etc), they are concerned about maintaining the current rates of production and labor if the next generations are smaller and smaller. Sure, Vance is talking about it from a "family values" perspective, because that's a cloak he thinks his base will listen to, but listen to Musk talk about it, or any of the "pro-natalist" movement.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's the funniest thing. The wealthy have bunkers and all that but don't have the skills to actually survive.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Best part is those bunkers will be filled a handful of physically weak billionaires and money makers surrounded and outnumbered by well trained soldiers, mercenaries and military people. The wealthy owners believe that they hired honourable, loyal dedicated soldiers ... but once the lights go out and everyone is on their own, who do you think will want to take over those bunkers?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

That's why the billionaires want shock collars on their security squads.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

As if ex-special forces don't get anti-interrogation training, oh and lock picking training.

They really are just a bunch of greedy idiots.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Also the collars aren't immune to simple brute force attacks. A careful angle grinder can nullify it. Do that to the entire security team and now there's a new warlord in town.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Makes a lot of sense Muskrat is pouring money into the neurolink.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (3 children)

But there will be fewer of us to collect, process, and deliver those resources. This means that those of us who are left will be able to command higher wages and better working conditions. (Not high or better enough, mind you, but higher and better.)

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

That's why they're investing heavily in AI

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

Ask the Irish about that.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Which is what our class wars will be based on .... which group should be left or eliminated in order to serve the masters because one group has to go.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

humanity kills themselves

Pockets of humanity will endure this at least as well as they endured the Ice Age or the Toba Explosion. But there's around 8 billion of us bouncing around today. The transition down to something like even just 1 billion would be nightmarish to live through.

This isn't a question of humanity hitting the "off" switch nearly so much as it is asking ourselves how we want our grandchildren to live a century from now.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

I mean maybe, that's a long shot. I also don't think its worth killing everything currently on the planet that didn't have a choice in the matter.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

In a very important way: they're afraid of constituent anger. Unlike a couple weeks back, they're now consistent about voting against Trump nominees.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Every US citizen needs to grab the free app 5 Calls. It will remind you weekly to call your representatives and senators. It provides you with a short script that you can use to express your displeasure, about an absolute myriad of issues. It also hands you the appropriate senators and representatives that are going to listen to you, because you are one of their constituents, and they can actually do something about it.

I've been doing it for three weeks now, and clearly it's barely working. If they wanted an engaged and enraged constituency, they may just get it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Oh I'm sure the rich will be just fine. The rest of us are replaceable ☺️

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The richest man in Rome lived miserably compared to the average retired Wisconsin suburbanite.

How long that lasts remains to be seen. What makes living in this country luxurious is the enormous development of industrial infrastructure and professional services. Gut Medicare, knock out air traffick control, and allow bird flu to decimate the agricultural sector. In time, the nicest thing a dollar will buy you is a ticket abroad.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

The richest man in Rome lived miserably compared to the average retired Wisconsin suburbanite.

Based on what exactly? The richest man in Rome would have had an abundance of slave labour available.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They've elevated themselves as high as it is possible to go, so the only way for them to get higher is by lowering us.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

I gotta disagree. Look abroad and you'll find other countries that are achieving much higher standards of living than the US. East Asia state, in particularly, have outpaced us in terms of health care, transportation, and education. But Mexico is closing in quick and accelerating. The BRICS, particularly South Africa, India, and Brazil, have these rapidly advancing metro-poles. We're on the tipping point for advanced nuclear power thanks to public investment from France to China. Things can absolutely get a whole lot better.

And even within the US, we're seeing wealthier corners of the country (your NYCs and Seattles and Lexingtons and Bostons and Salt Lake Cities) secure a kind of high quality modern lifestyle that is totally foreign to folks trapped in Birmingham, ALs or Dayton, OHs. When corners of Oklahoma can't afford a full five day school week and neighborhoods in Louisiana are losing consistent access to electricity and potable water.

And without steady investment in infrastructure and well-managed natural resources, the things that make a place like Dubai or Vegas seem luxurious all go away. The Bellagio doesn't work if the Hoover Dam runs dry.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Before your replacement a quick question, how well do you think you would blend down into SoylentX?

Asking for the regional Dark MAGA officer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The rich will be dead. Their security teams will be just fine.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

Seven of 45 Democrats - and at the beginning of February before the strength of constituent anger had really sunk in for elected officials.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

The upsides are that he’ll die with us.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Its the big reset. All those who voted Republican just waiting to be able to afford a house...meanwhile getting layer off. They don't realize that if there are 5 people an 4 houses then 1 goes without a house no matter what. The solution is not to burn down the other 4 houses or to layoff the other 4 people so they call all fight to stay in their home. The solution is to build more homes! Plain and simple. And migrants can help!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

There are currently more empty homes in the US than there are homeless people. There are roughly 30 empty units for each homeless person.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

There are currently more empty homes in the US than there are homeless people. There are roughly 30 empty units for each homeless person.

There are plenty of entire ghost towns they can move into for free right now, but nobody will because the housing needs to be near the jobs.

Some of those units are being renovated, some are in the process of being sold or leased, some are being lived in but the owners are on vacation. The latter is especially true for summer homes, which are empty most of the year but wouldn't be useful to homeless people because they're nowhere near the jobs - that's the point of a holiday home!

Seriously, if it were just homes then you can get something really basic for $20k. The real problem is the land and the permission to build.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Let's see this alternative knowledge be handled by chief turd and his Nazi committee.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Democrats are in it with Republicans

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

A few Democrats are. Most are not.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Upsides like what? Like after the Anthropocene there will be fewer dumbasses in the world?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

At this rate the Antropocene is gonna be so short that it shouldn't even be a 'cene.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

You will have cheap power to stay inside your AC controlled home, but won't be able to go outside.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Air conditioning our crops to allow them to have a chance to survive will definitely lower grocery prices.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

“cheap”