“If these solutions sound drastic to you, it’s because they are. They have to be if we have any hope of keeping our planet habitable.”
By Robert Reich, from the the American economist’s and former Labour Secretary for U.S. President Bill Clinton’s Blog site
Posted August 12th, 2021 on Niagara At Large
American economist and former staffer for three U.S. presidents, Robert Reich
In light of the latest (United Nations) IPCC report on climate change, it’s crucial we remember these four steps to avoiding a climate catastrophe.
First, create green jobs. Investing in renewable energy could create millions of family sustaining, union jobs and build the infrastructure we need for marginalized communities to access clean water and air.
Second, stop dirty energy. A massive investment in renewable energy jobs isn’t enough to combat the climate crisis. If we are going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must tackle the problem at its source: Stop digging up and burning more oil, gas, and coal.
Third, kick fossil fuel companies out of our politics. For decades, companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP have been polluting our democracy by pouring billions of dollars into our politics and bankrolling elected officials to enact policies that protect their profits. The oil and gas industry spent over $103 million on the 2016 federal elections alone.
Fourth, require the fossil fuel companies that have profited from environmental injustice to compensate the communities they’ve harmed. As if buying off our democracy wasn’t enough, these corporations have also deliberately misled the public for years on the amount of damage their products have been causing.
If these solutions sound drastic to you, it’s because they are. They have to be if we have any hope of keeping our planet habitable. The climate crisis is not a far-off apocalyptic nightmare — it is our present day.
To hear and watch Robert Reich speaking on the climate emergency, click on the screen directly below –
Robert Bernard Reich is an American economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. He was also a member of President Barack Obama’s economic transition advisory board.
To visit Robert Reich’s Blog site, click on – https://robertreich.org/post/659059767907680256
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
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A simple question. Would someone prefer to work in a coal mine with the inherent dangers of black lung, emphysema, lung cancer, cave ins and methane explosions at poverty wages for an earth destroying fossil fuel and pass such a lovely career on to their children or be retrained to work in green, clean, renewable energy jobs which are safer and give decent wages? Hmmm, what to do? Let me think! Of course the fossil fuel industry thinks a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
It can be done. 50 years ago a computer was the size of a warehouse but a couple of guys….who are now BILLIONAIRES…. saw the future and realized a computer could fit on your wrist. Can’t the fossil fuel barons figure this out? They could get in on the ground floor and keep their beloved money while saving the planet and all of its inhabitants. Someone should tell them there still aren’t buggy whip factories?
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Renewables will never produce enough energy to replace fossil fuels. Not in this century at least. And they can’t produce the high temperatures that industry needs. We should think in terms of reducing the amount of energy we use, not in continuing as we are but using renewables instead of fossil fuels. Air travel uses too much energy. The number of vehicles existing and miles driven should be reduced by about eighty per cent. Zoning laws should be changed so people can live without commuting to work. Diets should be changed to eliminate beef and pork from our diets. Forest reduction should be stopped and more trees planted. Many more things in the way we live will have go tochanged, drastically and rapidly
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OG – The REAL solution, THE ONLY SOLUTION, is fewer people Population control is a necessity..
Your approach is simplistic. Should, should, should. Sounds great if you say it quickly. Just stop travel. Just stop eating meat. Just stop driving. All sounds good but not going to happen.
Make vehicles that use renewables. It can be done. If we can find the means to land on one of Saturn’s moons surely we have the ability to develop green energy on earth.
Iceland and NZ use geothermal for heating and electricity. Cheap (basically free) and renewable. Denmark, Scotland and other nations use off shore wind turbines. They also use tidal generators which give energy as the tide comes in and when it goes out. Solar energy will be around for a few billion more years.
Stop use by idiots driving around on noisy, polluting ATV’s, dirt bikes and snowmobiles (often after midnight).Use only for emergencies like finding lost people in dangerous terrain. Get rid of motor boats. Wear off some fat with a canoe or kayak. Bike or walk when you can. Use vehicles when necessary. Develop mass transit for commuters. Not everyone lives in a city.
Strict veganism is not appropriate for everyone for medical reasons. It can cause metabolic problems and deficiencies in many individuals. Humans have been omnivores eating animal protein for thousands of years resulting in increased physical size and brain growth. Agriculture requires irrigation, land clearing and reduced habitat for other species. Not as safe and harmless as many think. Vegetarianism is preferable.
Should we cut down on extravagances like travel, driving and bad dietary habits? Of course but they cannot be eliminated unless we go back to tiny agrarian communities. The problem is, that won’t happen with a population of EIGHT BILLION people
How on earth, literally, can the planet support us? The human population in 1900 was 1.8 billion. Now almost 8 BILLION. What a stupid species humans are. Perhaps we need a REAL pandemic to cull the herd.
Stop spawning like fish. Why do people feel the need to pass on their precious genetic contribution to the world? In the third world education is needed so women realize they are not just breed sows. Men need to learn that not having a son does not mean the end of the world. I am childless and ecstatic about it. I would be terrified about their future on this crowded planet. When I’m gone that’s it. I won’t have the trauma of thinking about what my offspring will face, a Mad Max society.
Do we have to change drastically and rapidly? Yes. All good ideas but how can we implement them? Problem is, how are you going to do that with 8 billion people. Give us your plan. The planet is screwed because humans are selfish.
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I did not say stop eating chicken and fish, just beef and pork. There will also be manufactured protein.
My plan is for us to stop using all fossil fuels as soon as possible. Laws passed to make that happen. Also laws to encourage people to have few or no children. How quickly we do that will determine how bad it gets and how many, if any, humans survive.
We will probably continue using fossil fuels so that food supply is scarce and there will be little in the way of delivery. The most like result is that China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, most of Africa and India will become almost entirely uninhabitable, that will take out three or four billion people. Russia, British Isles , Canada, parts of the US and some of South America will do better. The survivors will be people who are able to grow or gather enough good to survive. Farmers. gatherers, fishermen, and herders. All depends on how fast we cut down on emissions.
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