The Future Endorses Bernie Sanders

[Uncle Joe]

A vote for anyone other than Bernie Sanders is a vote for near term extinction.

This is a hard piece to write. I have children, and I really don’t want them reading this. I don’t want to scare them. But as their mother, I have to sound the alarm. A vote for anyone but Bernie Sanders is a vote for the end of the human race.

The planet is stressed to the max. In Chile, tons of dead fish have been washing up on the shore. We have garbage patches in the Pacific the size of countries. A third of the Great Barrier Reef is dead. People are buying cans of fresh air in China. We have all seen the signs. We all know where this is headed. You’ve hurriedly scrolled past as many of these stories as I have, with your heart leaping in your throat, hoping it’s not true.

(snip)

One more step down this path is one step too many. We need a total 180 degree turn around in the opposite direction, and we need it yesterday. We are balanced precariously on the tipping point of species annihilation, and eight more years of pretty much the same is the certain end of the human race. We need a revolution.

If you don’t believe me, I don’t blame you. I don’t want to think about it either. I don’t share articles I see of climate scientists crying because of the terrifying evidence they are turning up because, quite frankly, it scares me to death. I am frozen by fear, rage, and frustration. How could we let it come to this?



(snip)

Well, no more. Enough is enough. Placating the rich people with half measures so they don’t lose some of their numbers on a screen at the expense of our species has to end right now. Oil production must stop. Wars to ensure control of oil production must stop. Putting all our energy, attention, science, and money into endless, stupid wars to ensure we keep using the stuff that is killing us, MUST STOP NOW.

Imagine what we could do if we just stopped that? All our money and all our great minds go into working out different ways of killing each other in order to keep killing ourselves with our use of oil. Imagine if we took that money and effort and put it into saving ourselves?

This world is truly insane right now. We all know that, we all thought that as children. There is this viral video going around this week of a small child crying in frustration about how we adults are destroying the planet. We were all that child once, and our mothers were all just as clueless as to how to explain why we do the mad things we do.

(snip)

http://www.inquisitr.com/3157898/the-future-endorses-bernie-sanders/

One correction to the article, I believe the man crying in the pic was a Dutch Diplomat to a climate summit on global warming not a climate scientist, but this is a good read.

[CrowCityDem]

1. Holy Onion, Batman!

[Uncle Joe]

3. Yes climate change is funny.

How Will Climate Change Affect the World and Society?


Climate change is already affecting the planet and society and will continue to do so for generations to come. The physical and chemical changes of human activities are being felt in natural ecosystems on land and at sea, on farms and ranches, and in cities and suburbs, but the changes are not happening uniformly. Differences in how regions are affected by varying degrees of warming, precipitation, and changes of animal and plant species are likely to get even more extreme as climate change continues. Some areas may actually get a bit cooler for a while! Similarly for rainfall, some parts of the planet will get drier, while others will get more precipitation in more extreme events.

(snip)

As climate change causes the ocean to rise, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is also changing ocean chemistry. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it makes water more acidic. Warmer ocean water also contain less oxygen. These changes harm marine ecosystems, destroying coral reefs that shelter much of the ocean’s biodiversity, and harming many other species. In addition to the harmful effects on natural ecosystems, this affects fish that people eat, coral reefs that tourists visit, and the whales, dolphins, sharks, and other marine life that fascinate so many people. Climate change and changing oceanic chemistry affect the tiny plankton in the ocean which produce much of the oxygen in our air, as researchers Graeme Hays, Anthony Richardson, and Carol Robinson explained (PDF) in a 2005 review in Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Changes to the growth of these tiny organisms have surprisingly large effects on global climate, as do climate change-induced changes to the movements of marine life, as reported by Wired magazine (July 2009). Changing ocean chemistry thus has complex and unpredictable effects on global climate and even the air we breathe. In 2005, the Royal Society issued (PDF) a detailed report for policymakers in the United Kingdom examining the ways climate change and ocean acidification would affect the oceans.

(snip)

As leaders in the U.S. military recognize (for instance in the 2007 National Research Council Report National Security Implications of Climate Change for U.S. Naval Forces), the effects of climate change will affect the security of nations as conflicts brew over competition for water, food, and land. The prospect of large groups of climate refugees migrating across borders is a concern for governments as well as for organizations devoted to reducing risk and helping those who are living in poverty and in vulnerable regions.

The insurance industry is already planning for the effects of climate change, which will often occur as natural hazards, such as floods, fires, heat waves, and droughts. Insurance regulators have demanded that insurers in the United States report their risks from climate change, with one regulator saying, “Climate change will have huge impacts on the insurance industry and we need better information on how insurers are responding to the challenge.” Reinsurers, the companies that insure insurance companies, are also watching these consequences. Munich Re, one of the largest reinsurers, keeps a database of natural disasters, and finds, “The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change.” Other leading insurance and finance companies have commissioned reports to evaluate the risks and opportunities created by climate change.

(snip)

https://ncse.com/library-resource/how-will-climate-change-affect-world-society

[CrowCityDem]

4. You can't be taken seriously if you suggest anyone but Bernie will be the "end of the human race".

[rock]

5. It does sound a little over the top

Doesn't it?

[MrMickeysMom]

22. Maybe to those living under a pile of rocks...

Where it's more attention getting to witness she-he mud pies than be faced with the issues.

To the rest of us, it's right on!

[rock]

24. Oh, yeah the BSers

That group that can't do math. The group with the irrelevant leader, Barnie What's-his-name.

[MrMickeysMom]

27. That's rather juvenile, now isn't it?

Can you actually argue a point?

[rock]

35. So you understood it then?

Great.

[MrMickeysMom]

37. Please...

Now, you're calling me names when it's the COMMENT that's juvenile.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Of the three choices left, I believe you can make the argument that Hillary nor Trump will seriously

change current catastrophic dynamics.

Trump will totally ignore it and Hillary will give lip service to the issue while promoting fracking along with more war; which in itself accelerates climate change as increased amounts of carbon is burned and methane released.

Bernie is the only candidate seriously proposing to alter our self-destructive, dead end path.

[CrowCityDem]

7. Not being as aggressive on climate change is a far cry from saying humans will go extinct.

[Uncle Joe]

23. Taking half steps at this point will only lead to the disintegration of human societies, we have a

rapidly narrowing window of opportunity in regards to anthropological climate change before it becomes self-perpetuating and beyond our ability to control or alter.

[Live and Learn]

8. Has Hillary given us any reason to believe she will do anything about it?

It is not even on her radar while Bernie calls it the most important issue.

Priorities!

[CrowCityDem]

12. My comment was only about how stupid it is to say only Bernie will save humanity from extinction.

That is so over the top and ridiculous that it practically invalidates anything else the author has to say.

[Live and Learn]

15. If one doesn't make it a priority then it is true. Climate change isn't waiting around for someone

to get around to doing something. Only Bernie has made it a priority. Maybe you should start inundating your candidate with pleas to do something about it. Of course, doing something will irk her corporate supporters so I don't know if you will have any luck.

[Cal33]

11. There are only 3 candidates left, and both Hillary and Donald can't be trusted to do anything

about the climate change. Yes, Bernie is the only one the majority of Americans do trust to
do his best about it.

Self-destructive people have no right to destroy and take other people along with themselves.

[CrowCityDem]

14. You really think we're that close to extinction?

[Live and Learn]

17. Scientists do. nt

[Cal33]

32. There have been several studies done by international scientists on global warming and

other climate irregularities. The agreement is between 90% and 100% (averaging to 97%)
that humans are the cause of our present predicament.

My understanding is that change in climate is slow, but there is a point of no return. If that
point is reached, there is nothing present science can do about reversing the situation.

The main people actively fighting against what the scientists are saying are members of
the American Corporate Power people and their obedient minions - the Republicans. These
guys are only interested in their profits and the power that comes from wealth. Nothing
else means anything to them. They will probably die natural deaths, but their children or
grandchildren might never reach the age of natural death.

http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm

[jack_krass]

16. Hows this: "A vote for HRC Trump could mean the end of the human race". Better?

[CrowCityDem]

18. As reasonable as saying a vote for Bernie is a vote for the end of America.

[Live and Learn]

9. What a ridiculous comment. nt

[Android3.14]

26. Looky, it's another Clump supporter

[JudyM]

36. "Clump!"

Is that ever true. He's worse, but she's so not what we need to save the planet and humankind, either. Just my opinion about what the planet needs.

The photos online are chilling...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

39. you must be a Trump fan?

[libdem4life]

2. Good article...no Kill The Messenger one-liner yet...3, 2, 1

ETA: Oops LOL

[Live and Learn]

10. K&R Such an important issue. This is our future. nt

[highprincipleswork]

13. Yeah, but perhaps we can all die knowing we had a woman President!

[99th_Monkey]

21. +10

[G_j]

19. Stephen Hawking: One Thing Threatens Us More Than Donald Trump … Climate Change

https://ecowatch.com/2016/05/31/hawking-trump-climate-change/

Hawking was asked if he could explain the rise of Trump, to which the man replied, “I can’t. He is a demagogue, who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator.”

“A more immediate danger is runaway climate change,” Hawking said.

“A rise in ocean temperature would melt the ice-caps and cause a release of large amounts of carbon dioxide from the ocean floor. Both effects could make our climate like that of Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees.”

In a ThinkProgress article about the interview, it was noted that most mainstream and corporate media ignored the second half of Hawking’s statement. Nevertheless, just like Sen. Bernie Sanders’ comments saying that climate change is more dangerous to the U.S. than ISIS, Hawking’s comments show the true enemy is ourselves.

[Uncle Joe]

20. Thanks for the addition, G_j.

[Juicy_Bellows]

25. Very true but some will scream hyperbole!

They don't want to face facts. Mr. Sanders is our best choice for the future of our planet. Many up-thread have listed why so I won't go into that.

My wife and I chose not to have children for many of the reasons in the OP.

[Uncle Joe]

28. I don't have children either but I do have nieces and nephews, I also still care

about other peoples's children, grandchildren, great grandchildren; the human race.

I honestly believe under current dynamics the world we are leaving them will be a catastrophe and that's not hyperbole, I wish it were.

Peace to you, Juicy.

[Juicy_Bellows]

30. Absolutely.

It is not hyperbole - the world is rapidly changing. Thirty years ago I thought climate change was real and happening but so slowly that we wouldn't be able to see it occur. Holy shit, I was wrong - you can practically watch it happen!

Here is an awesome clip from Chasing Ice -

Peace to you as well Uncle Joe - I'll be your nephew anytime.

[Uncle Joe]

33. That's one awesome, beautiful and yet highly disquieting video, Juicy.

[senz]

40. Brings to mind a Dylan line, Juicy

Goes something like, "You've thrown the worst fear that can ever be hurled, fear to bring children into the world."

Shows how far we've not come: the song could have been written for Hill and the Repubs.

[Juicy_Bellows]

43. Yep.

Always appreciate a Dylan quote. Steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king.

[Tarc]

29. "The future endorses Bernie Sanders"

How many delegates is that?

[senz]

41. ^^ Clinton mindset ^^

[Tarc]

44. Aww, y'all just have no funny bones

[senz]

31. The next president needs the courage to stand up to the fossil fuel industries.

Bernie Sanders can do it. He has the experience to work it out with oil, natural gas, and green energy companies so that we can put an end to the pollution that has caused global warming and is now killing life on the planet.

OTOH --

Hillary Clinton’s Biggest Campaign Bundlers Are Fossil Fuel Lobbyists

Clinton’s top campaign financiers are linked to Big Oil, natural gas and the Keystone pipeline.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-bundlers-fossil-fuel_us_55a8335ee4b04740a3df86c5

[Uncle Joe]

34. Thanks for the addition, senz.

I don't see serious movement toward combating anthropological climate change coming from Hillary, she simply doesn't take it seriously.


Peace to you, senz.

[senz]

38. Heard a report on NPR (Here and Now?) yesterday that mentioned the tipping point

in climate change indicators. It's not solidly over the top yet, but various indicators go over and then recede, go over, recede. We're so close to "no return." The scientists discussing it did not express any hope of reversing it any time soon. It's going to be a rough ride, especially for the younger generations.

The report was discussing a gigantic land glacier in, iirc, western Antarctica that has begun a precipitous melt that could land the whole thing in the ocean causing sea rise of ~ 2 meters. This is just from memory; I'd have to look it up but certain demands in RL are going to prevent that luxury.

It's funny, I remember being shocked when the GWB administration ordered that "global warming" not be mentioned in government publications. That's Hillary's good buddy, George W. Bush.

Peace to you, good uncle. I still can't get over what you went through in the Marines. It must be a nice feeling to know it's all over with. (I'll bet many of us can say that about some life events.)

Hm. Unless we have some horrible climactic/societal breakdown.

Let's be smart and vote Bernie.

[Uncle Joe]

42. I couldn't agree more, senz.

"Let's be smart and vote Bernie."

[Orsino]

45. Not quite that simple.

Americans don't generally vote for big change. Not all at once.

The future holds widening inequality, and that means opportunity for progressive voices. Sanders' campaign was always a long shot, but the most important thing it can accomplish, and already has accomplished, is to show that a real progressive can be a viable candidate on the national scene, without needing so much Establishment money. If we are wise enough, his candidacy will also teach us that big private money is necessarily corrupting to democracy, and ought to be banned.

You are absolutely right to point out that big change is needed desperately, and yesterday, but people only vote that way when enough feel that they have to. We're obviously not quite there yet.

[EndElectoral]

46. No time for incrementalism?

[Cheese Sandwich]

47. rec.

Thanks for posting