Blog – Page 5 – Russ Vernon-Jones

Good News and Perspectives on 1.5°C

May 9, 2023May 9, 2023 russvj 2 Comments Economic system, Feelings, Hope

Two weeks ago I shared the deeply troubling news that many scientists now think that we are definitely going to see global warming increase by more than 1.5°C. The effects of this warming will be devastating around the world, and especially in frontline nations. We do still have the possibility of overshooting that target and then, in time, with great effort, bringing warming back down below it.

This post recaps some key ideas from two weeks ago, reflects on reasons we are where we are, and offers many reasons to be encouraged about the possibilities for now accelerating our progress on solving the climate crisis.

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We Are Going Over 1.5°C. Now What?

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 russvj 1 Comment Feelings, Science

When the nations of the world met at the UN climate Conference in Paris in 2015, they seemed ready to settle on a goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2.0°C , but the poor and small island nations kept pushing for a goal of 1.5°C. Countries like Maldives said that 2.0°C was a death sentence for their island nation and many others. Just before the end of the conference the nations committed to keeping global warming “well below 2°C” and “pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” Ever since then, the 1.5°C goal has been “a symbol of mobilization and hope.” “1.5° has become central to both activist campaigns and scientific analysis,” as Tom Athanasiou, of EcoEquity puts it.

In 2018 the UN scientific body, the IPCC, published a special report comparing the effects of global temperatures increasing 1.5°C versus them increasing 2.0°C. Compared to 1.5°C, at 2.0°C we would see close to three times as many people regularly exposed to extreme heat; we would lose twice as many plant and vertebrate species and three times more insects; the marine fishing yield loss would be two times worse and crop loss more than two times worse, leading to vastly greater food insecurity. Permafrost melting would be 38% worse (emitting more methane) and ice-free arctic summers would be ten times worse. The increases in poverty and climate refugees at 2.0°C would be severe.

1.5°C was a goal that scientists repeatedly said was technologically possible to achieve, but that would require an unprecedented rate of change and political will. A tremendous amount of work on the part of activists, scientists, engineers, politicians, and people everywhere has gone into trying to keep global warming from exceeding that limit.

Despite these efforts, it is now clear that the global temperature increase is going to go over 1.5°C. I do not write this to discourage you or lead you to despair. I write it because I think we need to know the truth and start thinking about what it means. It does not mean the end of the world or that humanity is doomed. It does mean ….

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Stacey Abrams, Rewiring America, and Climate Justice

April 11, 2023April 11, 2023 russvj 1 Comment Race and racism

I admire Stacey Abrams and the way she and her colleagues registered 800,000 new voters in Georgia prior to the 2020 election, securing a win for Joe Biden, and putting Rafael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the U.S. Senate. I’ve also had a lot of respect for Rewiring America, a non-profit formed in 2020 to “help mobilize America to address climate change and jump-start the economy by electrifying everything.” So when I read that Stacey Abrams has just joined Rewiring America as their lead counsel and will lead their outreach to individuals and communities, it really caught my attention.

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What is an “Acceleration Agenda”?

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 russvj 4 Comments Science

António Guterres was born in Portugal in 1949. He studied physics and electrical engineering and then worked as an assistant professor. He left education to enter politics and in time became the Prime Minister of Portugal for 7 years. National public opinion polls later ranked him as the best prime minister of the previous 30 years. From 2002 – 2015 he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and in 2017 was elected the Secretary-General of the UN.

I’ve been fascinated by the power of his succinct statements on climate change. I am unaccustomed to hearing the truth and a positive vision stated so boldly by someone in a high-ranking official position. With the release of the latest IPCC report (March 20, 2023) he said,
“Humanity is on thin ice and that ice is melting fast.” He described the IPCC report as “a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once.”

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How to Talk About Climate Change

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 russvj 2 Comments Talking climate

I recently asked some friends what they found hard about starting conversations about climate change. One said they just didn’t know how to begin. Others said they were afraid they’d get asked a question they didn’t know how to answer, or feared triggering a disagreement, or they just didn’t know how to react when people were hopeless.

I recognized all of these as difficulties I’ve had in various situations. However, the experts say it’s really important that we talk about climate a lot. “The first step to action on climate change is to talk about it, that’s the number one thing we can do,” said Lucky Tran, who’s in climate communications at Columbia University. “We can’t solve any problems, especially at the global scale, if we don’t talk about the problem and the best way to address it.” This will be key to building a movement large enough to insist on action on the scale that is needed.

We used to think that the goal in communicating about climate was to convince people that climate change is real and caused by humans. That’s no longer necessary with most people. Polls show that a huge majority of people in the country understand that climate change is happening and are concerned about it. Our big job now is to make the topic more salient, let people know they are not alone with their concern, and enable people to express their desire for bolder climate action.

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Climate Action: Move Your Money & Switch Your Credit Card

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 russvj 2 Comments Economic system, Individual action

One Friday night in the fall of 2012 I found myself in a room at Amherst College with Bill McKibben, a good number of college students, and some local residents, many of them in their later years. I was only just beginning to really pay attention to the issue of climate change and thought of myself as a visitor or observer in this gathering. McKibben looked like a very ordinary guy, but once he started to speak, the power of his vision and persuasion transformed the room. At that point, no college or other institution had committed to divest from fossil fuels, but McKibben announced his intention to start a nation-wide divestment movement.

It seemed unlikely that such a movement could have much impact on an industry as wealthy as the fossil fuel industry. McKibben explained that he didn’t expect to bankrupt the industry, but rather to cause them to be seen as moral pariahs for their climate-destroying business model and to delegitimize the power they wield through political donations. He thought college students and alumni could effectively pressure colleges and universities to divest, and he announced a cross-country tour to enlist them. This made sense to me and I soon wrote to my alma maters encouraging them to divest from fossil fuels.

Fast forwarding to the present … the divestment movement that Bill McKibben announced in Amherst that night has grown. More than 1500 institutions–colleges, pension funds, faith-based organization, etc.– whose investments total more than $40 trillion, have ….

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White Supremacy Fuels Both Police Violence and Climate Destruction

February 14, 2023February 21, 2023 russvj 4 Comments Race and racism

A friend of mine recently talked to me about white supremacy. He said the white supremacy groups like the ones that marched with torches in Charlottesville in 2017 at the “Unite the Right” rally really scare him. “But when people start talking about white supremacy being everywhere, I don’t get it. We’re not all like the KKK.”

His confusion is understandable. The term “white supremacy” is often used today in two rather different ways. On the one hand it refers to the beliefs of various right-wing hate groups that are quite explicit about wanting the U.S. to be a country for white people and seeing black and brown people (and sometime all Jews, LGBQT+, Asians, and Indigenous people) as the enemy.

On the other hand, “white supremacy” is also used to describe the, often implicit, ideology that has been prevalent throughout the United States, from the beginning, that has led to laws, policies, and institutions that have favored white people. This more common, often unexpressed, way of thinking has affected all of us. It has led white people, in general, to feel more comfortable with other whites, and to see most white people as more responsible, trustworthy, and intelligent, and less violent than black and brown people. Even those of us who are committed to racial justice can find these ideas arising in our minds against our will. Studies show that even a significant percentage of black and brown people have internalized some of these messages, as well.

Some of the primary features of white supremacy ideology are superiority, domination, and entitlement. Especially entitlement for white people to pursue what they want and to seek their personal wealth, power, and comfort without regard to the effects of their actions on other people (especially black and brown people) or on the natural environment.

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Our Food and Climate Change

January 31, 2023February 11, 2023 russvj 5 Comments Individual action, Science

I thought it might be interesting this week to return to a very personal topic that we all encounter daily — food. What we eat, and don’t eat, impacts climate change. The diets of people around the world affect climate change.

More people in the U.S. are eating diets that include more plant-based foods. A recent survey found 63% making efforts to eat less red meat. Many are eating more plant based foods because a plant-based diet is healthier–and the “best way to avoid heart disease.” Increasing numbers of people are turning to more plant-based foods to help the environment. A diet made up mostly of foods from plants is both healthier and better for the climate than the traditional family diet in the U.S.

What does this term “plant-based” mean?

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Mia Mottley and Her Proposed Overhaul of Global Climate Finance

January 17, 2023May 26, 2023 russvj 4 Comments Economic system, International

Mia Mottley was born in Barbados, a small island nation in the Caribbean. She completed college in Barbados and then went to the London School of Economics at age 18. One of her classmates at the time remembers meeting her– she was on a couch in a student apartment in London talking with everyone. He was “slightly enthralled by this person because she was like a queen, even at age 18. And people would come and pay homage. It was like a court visit.”

After graduating, Mottley went back to Barbados. She’s from a political family there and in 1994 became the youngest Barbadian ever elected to Parliament. In 2018 she became Prime Minister. She won a second term in 2022 with her party sweeping all of the seats in the legislature with 73% of the popular vote.

I first became aware of her when I saw an 8-minute video of a powerful speech she gave at the opening session of COP26 in Glasgow. It’s worth watching if you want some inspiring and engaging straight talk from a powerful leader who is a person of the global majority*.

Now Mottley has made a proposal that could lead to billions of dollars becoming available to finance climate action in frontline nations. These climate-vulnerable nations need funds to recover from climate disasters, prepare for the next disaster, and to transition away from fossil fuels.

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Climate Good News – 2022

January 3, 2023January 6, 2023 russvj 1 Comment Hope

Writing about climate, or even just thinking about climate, can pose a challenging dilemma for any of us. If we focus too much on what a desperate climate emergency humanity is facing, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or discouraged and pulled to give up. On the other hand, if we focus too much on the good news and signs of hope, some may be tempted to become complacent and feel that others are taking care of what needs to be done.

At our best, we develop an ability to simultaneously: 1) remember the magnitude of the crisis, 2) find hope in the good news, and 3) maintain a commitment to sustained action. We then engage both in lowering our own carbon footprints and in joining actions to accelerate the systemic changes that are essential.

Emotionally this requires what for many of us is a new approach — acknowledging our feelings of overwhelm and hopelessness, while at the same time, choosing to be hopeful. As we do this we can feel more fully alive, more connected with others, and full of purpose.

I trust that my readers will remember that climate change is causing severe suffering in many parts of the world and that almost everywhere, including in the United States, corporations, governments, and individuals are still doing things to make the crisis worse. With that awareness, I offer some highlights of good news from the year 2022 to help us all stay hopeful as we engage in making a difference.

The climate-destroying deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon is expected to …

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Do We Understand the Problem?

December 20, 2022December 22, 2022 russvj 6 Comments Economic system

How do you feel when you find out someone has lied to you? How do you feel when you find out someone claiming to be doing something good is actually doing something else–something truly harmful?

While the election lies in the U.S. have been getting a lot of attention (as they should), the lies and deceit of the big oil and gas companies are much less well-known and remembered, but are every bit as disastrous for the health of our society.

A new report last week from the House of Representatives Oversight Committee details what they learned in their investigation into the big oil and gas companies. Their key finding was that while these fossil fuel corporations are falsely portraying themselves to the public as committed to going green, they are continuing to seek to expand drilling and sales of climate-destroying fossil fuels. The Committee actually got the big oil CEOs to appear (from ExxonMobil, BP America, Chevron and Shell), put them on the spot, and got lots of previously hidden documents released.

The Committee report says, “Big Oil has doubled down on long-term reliance on fossil fuels with no intention of taking concrete actions to transition to clean energy.” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Chair of the Committee said, “Even though Big Oil CEOs admitted to my Committee that their products are causing a climate emergency, today’s documents reveal that the industry has no real plans to clean up its act and is barreling ahead with plans to pump more dirty fuels for decades to come.”

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8 Billion of Us! – Population Growth and Climate Change

December 6, 2022January 16, 2023 russvj 4 Comments Race and racism

Sometime on November 15th, according to demographers, a baby was born somewhere in the world who brought the number of humans living on the planet to 8 billion. That’s a lot of us!

How does population growth relate to our efforts to solve the climate crisis? This is a sensitive subject. It can bring up differing viewpoints and strong feelings about everything from women’s rights to religion to racism.

There’s no question that, all other things being equal, more people means more consumption; and more consumption means more stress on multiple global systems, including the climate. However, population growth does not have as large an impact on the climate crisis as one might suspect.

First of all, worldwide population growth has slowed significantly and is now less than 1% per year.

Secondly, most population growth is occurring, and will occur in the coming decades, in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia–areas of the world where per-capita greenhouse gas emission rates are very low. Population growth in these areas contributes to climate change, but the contribution is extremely small compared to the amount of climate change driven by the consumption patterns of people in the wealthy nations. In other words, our over-consumption problem in the wealthy nations is far greater than the population growth problem elsewhere.