31 December 2019 (Desdemona Despair) – In 2019, the climate data show Earth’s climate system unraveling mostly as predicted, although faster than expected by some. But the really scary chart was penned by none other than the President of the United States himself.
Trump would not be gainsayed by the National Weather Service and insisted that Hurricane Dorian posed a threat to Alabama, even though NWS was quite confident in predicting no impact. A stroke of his Sharpie remedied the offending chart. Science in the U.S. now hangs on political whim.
It’s like the President of Brazil saying that scientists studying deforestation in the Amazon are lying about their data. And it’s like Australia’s PM Scott Morrison denying that the megafires consuming his country are a climate catastrophe. The authoritarian style is to assert absurd claims as truth, against all facts, to solidify the support of followers; dissonance reduction is a powerful tool of social control.
Desdemona has worried frequently about the time when the overwhelming volume of scientific data would reveal abrupt climate change to any reasonable observer. Will we mobilize at the required “world war” scale, or will we listen to authoritarian madmen and kill the messengers?
Aerial view showing houses destroyed by rising sea levels and coastal erosion associated with climate change, in the community of El Bosque in Nuevo Centla, Tabasco state, Mexico. About 700 people once lived in El Bosque, which sits on a...
Excess U.S. death rates by county vaccination rate relative to 2019, before and after vaccine availability. The graph shows average excess death rates for Republicans and Democrats in each county for Covid Pre-Vaccine (April 2020 to March 2021) and Covid...
A boat sails in front of a wave caused by the advance of sea water on the river during the dry season in the Bailique Archipelago, district of Macapa, state of Amapa, northern Brazil, Monday, 12 September 2022. During a...
One Response
“Will we mobilize at the required “world war” scale, or will we listen to authoritarian madmen and kill the messengers?” If by we, you mean humanity as a whole, I think you already know the answer. These are also not the only two options, another is to ignore it, which is what I believe most are doing. Until grain prices start to skyrocket, resulting in rampant food inflation, most people are not going to take this seriously. Of course by then it will be far too late.
“Will we mobilize at the required “world war” scale, or will we listen to authoritarian madmen and kill the messengers?” If by we, you mean humanity as a whole, I think you already know the answer. These are also not the only two options, another is to ignore it, which is what I believe most are doing. Until grain prices start to skyrocket, resulting in rampant food inflation, most people are not going to take this seriously. Of course by then it will be far too late.