Climate scientist Michael Mann: ‘A generation from now, we are looking at an entirely different planet’

By Carol Schaeffer
29 September 2014 (Planet Experts) – While events surrounding last week’s U.N. Climate Summit come to a close, leading climate scientist and Planet Expert Dr. Michael Mann stresses that the window to act is rapidly closing. On Saturday, Dr. Mann participated in a panel discussion at the Queens Museum entitled, “Climate Wars: Propaganda, Debate, and the Propaganda of Debate.” In the lead up to the 2015 Paris U.N. summit, said Mann, pressure needs to be applied to policymakers now. “We have no time to lose if we’re going to prevent warming below the dangerous 2° celsius threshold, we have to act now,” he said. On September 21, the People’s Climate March saw record numbers of people protesting against climate change in New York City. Organizers of the march estimated 310,000 people by 3:00pm the day of the march, but also suggested that the number could have been closer to 400,000 to include those marching outside the official route. Following the march, an estimated 3,000 protesters attended Flood Wall Street, a civil disobedience action designed to highlight the connections between capitalism and climate change and to disrupt business-as-usual on Wall Street. Mann noted the role of Flood Wall Street’s act of civil disobedience in public discourse, stating that “historically [civil disobedience] was a very important part of the civil rights movement,” but also stressed the importance of continuing to place pressure on official U.N. policymakers to enact the immediate change necessary. Although the Climate March was “mostly symbolic,” Mann said he believed it “really changed the conversation, at least temporarily, and hopefully permanently.” Mann remains hopeful on the prospects of climate change, and is positive that progress is being made via international law-making channels (pressured by popular awareness campaigns). Mann cited the Rockefeller Foundation’s divestment of $860 million from fossil fuels, citing this as a “real world impact” of the awareness raised by the Climate March. [more]

Climate Scientist Michael Mann: ‘We Are Looking at an Entirely Different Planet’