We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Press Release: 1.5°C vs 2°C global warming – new study shows why half a degree matters

Click here to access article from European Geosciences Union.
European researchers have found substantially different climate change impacts for a global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C by 2100, the two temperature limits included in the Paris climate agreement. The additional 0.5°C would mean a 10-cm-higher global sea-level rise by 2100, longer heat waves, and would result in virtually all tropical coral reefs being at risk.
It appears that the Great Barrier Reef off Australia is already in trouble judging by this report from the Independent entitled "Great Barrier Reef: Half of natural wonder is ‘dead or dying’ and it is on the brink of extinction, scientists say".

However, none of this matters to capitalists who are addicted to power and profits that is delivered to them by their system. I wonder how long the rest of us are going to let these drug addicts and their delivery system destroy the Earth's habitat that can support human life.