Solutions

Nutshell

“Solutions” is the wrong word.

Difficult as it is to communicate, absorb, process, accept, and as shrill / alarmist as it may sound, our shared atmosphere is on an accelerating course to reach a state of potentially unsurvivable, global climate extremes during the lives of today’s children and teens.

The climate (energy / population / democracy / justice) crisis is a clear, present, dire EMERGENCY that ALREADY displaces and KILLS millions each year and compromises the lives of billions RIGHT NOW.

It is no longer preventable. Things will get much worse for a long time to come no matter what. And the risk of sudden, catastrophic system shifts, tips, flips that can occur over time frames as brief as a few years (as they have in the past) is upon us.

So the only “solution” would require time travel or reversal back to at least the 1960s, when everything began to get carried away.

There ARE many potential responses that are within our current means and technology, AND possibilities yet to be discovered.

But our core afflictions — psychological and anti-science resistance and denial, political and ideological gridlock, delayed, minimal, incremental action, and our insane, oppressive, growth and inequality-based, fossil fuel-reliant economics that perpetuate, compound, and are the root of, the crisis — are contrary and disproportionate to the reality / physics / bio-chemistry and non-linear (unpredictable, abrupt, runaway) nature of the threat.

No less than the fate of all generations of all peoples and most species hangs in the balance TODAY. We’re in a race against time to prevent irreversible, worst-case, apocalyptic outcomes. And it’s far too late in the process for a gradual ramp up (mass, collective delusion) approach to have significant enough impact.

We must take extraordinary, disruptive, inconvenient measures to do as much as possible very SOON and very FAST.

That requires a sustained, ‘state of global emergency’-scale level of international urgency, cooperation, research and development, mass mobilization and implementation, resistance and protest — on a vast multitude of fronts — just to level off, let alone reverse and restore our destabilized global climate to the safe balance that allowed us to evolve.

Below is the start of a collection of best proposed (and necessary), least-awful responses / possibilities to attempt to confront — rethink, transform, mitigate, adapt to, drawdown, refreeze, rewild, survive — what is ALREADY the greatest crime against humanity, most life and future life EVER. (Compilation: Betrayal of Life.)

Specifics

Big picture

  • Compilation – Geoengineering and the global climate EMERGENCY, climateye — Whatever your position, important considerations and complications (con and pro) are discussed, like how carbon emissions reduction isn’t simple because there would be consequences, just as there would be tremendous risks and uncertainties in any attempt to manipulate the global climate (as we’ve done for over 150 years). But here we find ourselves. Out of time. Lousy options. And in quandary over least-worst.

Political (more to come)

Individual – climateye

Individual – More collected from other sources

Recommended authorities on what’s really necessary

climateye’s most essential info

More

  • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2013/apr/12/escalating-consumption
  • http://grist.org/living/local-schmocal-why-small-scale-solutions-wont-save-the-world/
  • http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/sarah-van-gelder/climate-emergency-action-plan-5-ways-we-can-still-avert-catastrophe
  • http://www.earth-policy.org/book_bytes/2012/wotech8_ss5
  • http://www.earth-policy.org/book_bytes/2012/wotech10_1
  • http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/05/201252614334480622.html
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/painting-roofs-white-is-as-green-as-taking-cars-off-the-roads-for-50-years-says-study-7640770.html
  • http://earththeoperatorsmanual.com/
  • http://www.climatecodered.org/2012/05/post-carbon-postcard1-california-usa.html
  • www.climatecodered.org/2012/05/void-at-heart-of-anthony-giddens.html
  • http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/03/450059/nine-low-tech-steps-for-community-resilience-in-a-warming-climate/
  • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/06/nasa-scientist-climate-change
  • http://www.earth-policy.org/book_bytes/2012/wotech10_ss4
  • http://griponclimate.org/2012/04/22/disrupting-the-ecosystem-of-denial-and-building-a-culture-of-responsibility-part-1/
  • http://griponclimate.org/2012/04/22/disrupting-the-ecosystem-of-denial-and-building-a-culture-of-responsibility-part-2/
  • http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112142232.htm
  • http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112193442.htm
  • How the world could attempt to stabilize at 450ppm, Joe Romm, Climate Progress
  • Book – How to prevent economic and ecological collapse, Lester Brown
  • Book – Worldchanging 2.0: A buzz with new “solutions”, Alex Steffen
  • http://www.climateactioncentre.org/carbon-equity

Websites

  • Earth Policy Institute
  • Worldwatch Institute
  • Climate Code Red
  • Post Carbon Institute