Surviving the Climate Crisis

 

An important work entitled “The Future We Choose - surviving the climate crisis" has recently been published by Manilla Press. It is written by Christiana Figueres the former UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change and Tom Rivett-Carnac who was senior political strategist for the Paris Agreement.

Unfortunately, the style of writing (especially for the first half of the book) is somewhat convoluted and might be off-putting for many. But it is a work which needs to be persevered with, for it provides solid proposals on the type of avenues we need to pursue to guarantee the future of humanity.

As a taster, I give below very brief summaries of ten forms of action it presses that need to be widely pursued to protect the future of mankind. These are covered in separate sections in the second half of the book.

1. Move to the development of onshore wind turbines in place of fossil fuels.
2. Remove 80% of our cars from the roads and what remain should be electric forms of transport.
3. Defend the truth. Scientists generally agree that Global Warming is extremely dangerous.
4. Eliminate waste – reduce, reuse and recycle. Move beyond the mindset of
   consumption and ownership.
5. Undertake an energy audit of your home and reduce your air flights, especially if you live in a wealthy country.
6. Reforest the earth. In addressing climate change few actions are more urgent.
7. Linear GDP growth can no longer be the priority. More stuff does not mean a better life. Invest instead in a clean economy.
   8. We can use technology responsibly, delivering emission reductions. It is now possible to completely redesign our central energy grids.
   9. We need to build gender equality. Women often have a leadership style that is essential to responding to the climate crisis.
   10. Most important of all, we all need to involve ourselves in democratic politics to end operations in which corporate interests have captured the operations of our political systems. 
   
   Added 25 April - This could be a key development - click here. 
   Added 26 April - Also click here.
   Again 26 April - For virus deaths per thousand of national populations. The top nine nations are all European with the UK in fifth place, although it has no record for such total deaths in care homes and the like. So its real position could be higher and worse. Click here.
   May 9 - Click here.