We saw the proof...

[kentuck]

..that our climate could be changed rather quickly and rather dramatically when there is a world-wide pandemic and the entire country and world shut down their manufacturing processes.

The people in California were amazed that they could finally see their mountains clearly. The sky was bluer. The canals in Venice, Italy were clean and clear, for the first time in many memories. Almost overnight, our environment changed.

So, we know it can happen.

We need to figure a way to make it happen continually.

[pandr32]

1. We need more work-from-home

Many executives were zoom meeting with their teams--all at home. My son (Seattle Compass Housing) is one of them and as the result they are doing more days at home since the restrictions lifted. Production did not lag which is key. I think people are happier, too.
With modern technology we have the ability to work differently. We need to change some minds, though, still.

[PufPuf23]

21. One item that should be high priority for work from home

is to extend broadband fast internet coverage into rural and poor areas that do not have coverage at present.

Much of rural USA does not have the fast internet access that is required to fully participate in modern society.

Internet access means more working from home and less energy used for the commute.

Good internet may be the means to reboot some red minds. Have good internet where not now available would brighten the sky, the water, and maybe enough minds so we can progress and adjust.

Rural and poor and people of color and those of diverse lifestyles need good internet just to be equal, participating citizens.

Why need to pass major Build Back Better legislation.

[catrose]

28. That will really help me!

14 mi from a big city and I have a hard time staying connected to work.

[pandr32]

29. Good point

[Bev54]

2. I remember as a teenager and young adult I joined groups to fight for a stop to

clear cut logging and from chemicals being released in our rivers and lakes and to clean up our air. Some lakes and rivers were so polluted you would not step in them and there were signs all over that the water was not safe. We made a lot of progress and over my life I have seen many waterways cleaned up, we do not see the air pollution as we did back then and logging practices have improved exponentially. This is a much more difficult tackle but I do believe it can be done and once again the young are leading the way.

[forgotmylogin]

3. After that month where the atmosphere cleared up, I longed that we could do it every year.

If we could just have a month with no unnecessary commuting once a year.

It's like the atmosphere took a breath and regained itself a bit.

[KS Toronado]

4. Could we force auto makers to go fully electric sooner?

[Celerity]

11. You have people on here who openly toss serious FUD at electric cars and also had little to

no real issues with the BIF being absolutely gutted of most of its green energy components. Some also said that not passing the BBB at all will be no big deal, that the BIF was the big one (laughable as the BIF, post-Manchinema gutting, represents less that 10% of Biden's original 2 bill proposal totals). By saying that they are shrugging at shitting away over half a trillion USD more in green energy spending. The Biden climate change agenda with be, if that happens, almost completely dashed upon the rocks, left in a coal heap if you will, killed off via so-called centrist obstructionism working synergistically with RW climate change denialism.

If people of this overall ideological bent (not just on electric cars mind you, not just on climate change, I mean centre to centre right when the rubber meets the road economically in terms of outlays and governmental pressure and steerage of giant private corporations) truly do represent (as they claim they do) the largest bloc of Dem voters (some claim the majority), then, when combined with the vast majority of Rethugs, tens of millions of whom are outright viscous climate change denialists, well, all I can say is, good luck with...............

force auto makers to go fully electric sooner

[Meadowoak]

5. Electric cars, once they become available to ordinary folk, and

People will see that you can buy a new electric vehicle and make payments with what you save from not having to buy gasoline.

[kimbutgar]

6. Just think where we'd be if we stayed on the path of Jimmy Carter's and embraced solar energy and

And Alternate energy.

I curse Reagan all the time for his keeping us on fossil fuel.

[malaise]

7. THIS n/t

[Celerity]

14. The US needs to maintain the petrodollar matrix in order to remain the world's reserve currency.

The vast bulk of global petrol is sold in USD. All other nations have to use the FOREX market to swap their currency to US dollars in order to buy. The USD FOREX is by FAR the world's biggest single financial market. Quadrillions (one thousand trillion is one quadrillion) in turnover. It is the only segment of the global financial system big enough to absorb and process truly massive ebbs and flows of wealth.

That liquidity and forced constant demand for the USD, plus the purchasing of US debt via US treasuries, allows the US to ring up what is considered, at some point, damn near unlimited debt. The maintaining of the petrodollar matrix is why the US has a global military empire with over 1,000 bases, sub-bases, and forward force-projection points. The biggest Ponzi scheme in 2.5 million years or so of hominid/human history, all backed up with thousands of nuclear and thermonuclear warheads.

[malaise]

15. Great post

[PufPuf23]

22. Thank you for your summary,

concise and true

What brought me into a heavy interest in politics and to the Democratic Party was being in late teens and subject to the draft for Vietnam when I Initially supported Eugene McCarthy in 1968 (but had not yet aged into vote). I am an anti-war Democrat and in that have been consistent and will never change.

A sane species would be looking at ways to unwind the global military footprint.

[CrispyQ]

8. Taking down the WH solar panels sent the message

that conservation, talking about the ecology, saving the ecology, was an extremist leftist idea.

[kimbutgar]

10. I don't know why they stopped using the term ecology

It sounds better than climate change and global warming. Especially for those over 60 years who watch Fox and vote for the American Taliban.

[SallyHemmings]

9. I was having this conversation with my 15 year old grandson.

He is studying climate change in his 9th grade science class.

It was stunning how blue our skies were during the pandemic. I live in Southeastern PA.

[kimbutgar]

12. I am a substitute teacher and the kids I teach k-5 are made aware of climate change

And the curriculum we teach talks about saving our planet for their future.

Yesterday I was teaching a 3rd grade class and I commented it was too hot in San Francisco and growing up I never remembered it being so warm and sunny the second week in November.
One student said it because “ our earth is warming”. An 8 year old with more sense than adults who watch Fox.

[pandr32]

30. Yup--sigh

Reagan was the turning point for American progress.

[Bmoboy]

13. Shut down fossil fuels today

That would work

But...

We still sell tobacco
You can still buy Round-Up
My son just flew to the Galapagos for fun
It gets cold in the winter and many power plants currently run on fossil fuels
Most of my medications are made in India or China and are shipped to the US in planes or boats that run on fossil fuels

The obvious solution, stop burning now, would lead to massive disruption of our "civilization"

So instead, we wait for ...

[Duppers]

23. Bet you said something about his trip.

Mine flew to Scotland where he stayed a week traveling around, then on to London (had been there a few times before but was too young to remember). Had he not been going thru an emotional time, I would have berated him to the hilt.

He knows what's causing g.w. The only thing in his favor is that he doesn't plan to have any offspring. He's 35, so I'm sure he means it.

Great post, btw, Bmoboy. 👍

[KY_EnviroGuy]

26. Can't be done quickly, too many people would die....

from freezing, heat and starvation.

But it can be done on a slow, planned basis if the collective will is there. Unfortunately, global humanity is too territorial and nationalistic to agree on doing anything as a global population effort. The global right-wing is humanity's biggest enemy and they think on a very short-term, selfish basis.

However, the U.S. has the influence and power to lead that effort but only if we can keep Republicans out of power.

KY

[dalton99a]

16. Kick

[ymetca]

17. "It's the ecology, stupid"

Our global economy is a teetering Jenga stack right now. A boat stuck in a canal causes global repercussions. A single "flaw" in some code buried deep in the bowels of a server farm can make money evaporate.

We can't admit that there isn't enough money in the world to solve all our problems, for it was never about the money.

It's the ecology, stupid.

It's madness I tells ya! Madness!

In any system sufficiently complex chaos reigns supreme.

[uponit7771]

18. K&R !!!

[IbogaProject]

19. The clear sky's actually warmed us up

The clear sky's actually warmed us up. Global temperatures went up. https://www.ecowatch.com/lockdown-air-pollution-temperature-2650268659.html
That says temps in the USA went up .37 centigrade which is like .667 F.

[PufPuf23]

20. Unfortunately the major California wildfires of 2020 and 2021

ended up blanketing much of California in smoke from late July until the rain season.

The damage from back to back record breaking in recorded history fire years has damaged California forests in such that the damage cannot be calculated.

I have zero doubt that contemporary fires and weather patterns are the product of global climate change.

Humans are social beings but were unfortunately are also predators and manipulators.

But you are correct in your observations, a major change in acts by human society can have striking results. But even that is not enough, we need to live with zero net carbon and probably more importantly not so literally hell bent on destroying Earth's biota so we can be comfortable. Human footprint and sheer numbers need and will be reduced, our only choice is how to address the reduction.

Not much the optimist at present. See more social strife, wars, disease, and the like in humankinds' immediate future. Too many people and too complex.

Yes we do need to take the pressure off our only home.

[Chille]

24. This was so

refreshing to read. I wish I could have witnessed the view of the CA. Mountains.

Thanks for posting

[OrangeJoe]

25. Rain on your parade

Unfortunately electric vehicles and solar panels aren't going to save us. Don't get me wrong, we need to be moving much more aggressively to widely adopt this technology and more importantly finance its spread all over the planet.

But even doing all of these things at a much faster and more through rate still won't save us unless we aggressively reverse population growth, through contraception and financial incentives for fewer births. People use natural resources. People in the developing world are very aware of the limited amount of stuff they own compared to the industrialized nations. They want more electricity, cars, flush toilets, clean water, etc. If we continue on the path of adding millions more bodies on the planet every year we will reap the whirlwind.

[Dukkha]

27. Every problem in the world has a solution

In many cases it is a mere simple solution. It's only a matter of having the will to implement them. To not let selfishness and greed stand in the way of the inalienable truth that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. The burden that prevents the solutions to be implemented is the absurd notion that ignorance is as valid as knowledge under the false guise of "freedom" and "liberty". Mere buzzwords the opposition uses to validate ignorance and selfishness.