Climate Change Nihilism

Over on the Guardian Environment Blog, MangoJuice agrees :

that the globe is warming at a rate not seen in human history
that the polluting effect of the industrialised nations is the majority cause.
that it is grossly negligent and criminal not to harness all the free energy the sun, the wind and sea provide.

But MangoJuice is annoyed with the way some people go on about it

Well, pardon us for mentioning that business as usual means drought, flood, extreme weather, loss of low-lying fertile land and all the rest of it. Even putting down this little list makes me feel that I may be stepping on someone's toes.

"Best not to mention global warming. I mentioned it once, and they said I sounded like a prophet of doom".


But then Mango asks us to face facts and realise that no matter how loud and often we shout it is not going to make much of a difference. Global carbon emissions are going to rise and there is naff all you can do about it. The tipping point is almost upon us if not already here, and Mango asks: How can we efficiently get the green house gases out of the atmosphere and stored safely?

Mango, humanity is in a bit of a hole, climate-wise.
The First Law of Not Being in a Hole is - Stop Digging.

There is no logic in trying to sequester CO2 while the emissions are going full blast.

We can indeed reduce emissions, in a range of ways that starts with turning down the central heating and full loft insulation, going on all the way to Desertec and the HVDC supergrid.

And, yes, we can make a start on CO2 sequestration with reafforestation.

Third, there is a possibility that temperatures may not rise as fast as the models predict.

I am noticing that there is a real vogue for people to comment that It's All Too Bad, They'll Never Listen, You Wanna Give Up Mate, Like Me, That's the Way To Go.

Green activism is like having a parachute on a hang glider. It may or may not save your life, but in case of structural failure, it does serve to keep your mind occupied on the way down,