Climate Strike
20Sep2019
Big crowd in front of Philadelphia City Hall to endorse action on the
climate. We're all facing a stage that's pointed to the North.
Same crowd from another angle.
And yet another.
So why are all of these young people so upset? Well,
[T]he Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere says
human-induced climate change is harming the health and function of the
ocean and cryosphere in a number of ways. Glaciers and ice sheets are
shrinking. Global sea level is rising at more than twice the rate of
the 20th century. The ocean is warming, becoming more acidic and losing
oxygen. Fifty percent of coastal wetlands have been lost over the last
100 years. Species are shifting, biodiversity is declining and
ecosystems are losing their integrity and function. The strain on the
ocean and cryosphere has direct and indirect effects, threatening human
health, food security, fresh water and livelihoods.
350.org outlines the science of climate change for us:
1. It’s warming.
2. It’s us.
3. We’re sure.
4. It’s bad.
5. We can fix it.
The reason for the name "350" is that the parts per million of carbon
in the atmosphere before 1750 (When people began burning a lot of coal
to fuel the Industrial Revolution) was about 280. We can safely go up
to 350ppm. We're currently at about 408ppm.
One of the speakers. And my music video.
Since 1961, inequality between countries has decreased as the ideas and
techniques and values of the Western Industrial Revolution have
penetrated into the rest of the world. Climate change is powerfully pressing much of the world back into inequality.
A real problem with climate change is that the countries that are
making it happen are not bearing the costs anywhere near as much as are
the Global South.
Greta Thunberg makes a passionate case for taking action immediately. She was behind today's demonstration. She was in New York today. Climate Strike home page.
Thunberg's statement “I will not beg the world leaders to take care for
our future I will instead let them know that the change is coming
whether they like it or not.”
An investment publication acknowledges that the current American
presidential administration is creating headwinds for renewable energy,
but overall, it sees a positive future
for "solar, wind, natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric power." It
also sees a future for sources such as "biomass, geothermal,
hydroelectric, and tidal power." Renewable energy prce-to-earnings
ratios have been doing reasonable well over the past five years. A rewables index of 40 renewables companies compares reasonable well with the S&P 500. Overall, renewables appear to be pretty good investment.
After the march.
Good march with lots of energy! One of the big questions of changing
over to a renewables-based economy is whether to concentrate on
continued technoogical innovation or deploying what we already know
works right now. I'm personally of the "deploy now" crowd wheras a
blogger for Vox advocates a balanced approach between both innovation and deployment.
PRAWN