T0rrent01

If unified national and international commitment could achieve monumental progress during crises like the world wars, a similar level of coordinated mobilization is required today. A wartime economic restructuring transitions society at emergency speed off fossil fuels through massive investments, just transition programs, and an enduring rationing of carbon pollution. Government mandates modernize infrastructure, transportation, manufacturing and agriculture along renewable lines while stimulating sustainable jobs and industries.

International cooperation leverages strengths and resources, from research collaborations to emissions pacts holding all nations accountable. Wealthy emitters aid economic transition of frontline nations suffering first from weather extremes. A progressive carbon fee program funds mitigation efforts while incentivizing structural economic changes. Grants assist vulnerable communities relocating from rising seas and intensifying natural disasters.

Prioritizing collectivity and justice transforms sacrifices into liberating progress for all humankind. With science as the commanding general, nonviolent civil disobedience compels stubborn political systems to catalyze transformations long stalled by obstructionism and misinformation. But societal will aligned behind solutions offers hope where bleakness once prevailed.

The problem being, of course, that conservatives and capitalism are ruining everything. Just look at how we fared at COVID. If we can't get the entire population to stay at home and wear masks to protect themselves against a global pandemic, how the heck are we supposed to get them to stay at home and wear masks to protect themselves against climate change?

I live in an area where there are many climate change deniers. Recently, the city of Athens has shut down the Acropolis until further notice, because of an unprecedented heat wave fueled by anthropogenic climate change. And unfortunately, I'm hearing many of those people formulating nonsense batshit conspiracy theories. Sheesh, I'll bet many of them weren't even set on visiting Greece once in their lifetimes... yet they're still ragging on and on.

Incidentally, many of them also happen to be the exact same people as those who downplayed the severity of COVID, and went around unmasked whining about restrictions and vaccine passports, like toddlers. Gee... I sure wonder why?

Going to the Acropolis in extreme heat is dangerous and irresponsible, and this is a totally justified measure to keep Athens safe.

Well, guess what? We're going to have much more of this, and around the world, too! I'm glad the Athens government has a brain, and I only wish ours would. Serves us right for destroying the planet, I guess. There's gonna be a lot less snow everywhere, and it's going to be one hot summer for the rest of our lives.

Seriously, why the hell are we still letting these idiots have microphones? We need to take this seriously. We have only one planet to live on.

It reflects the kind of attitudes that allowed oppressive systems to persist for centuries. I'm as anti-fascist as the next person, but I'm worried that adopting a tribalist mentality will only nurture fascism and shield the privileged from accountability. Giving in to cynicism and analysis paralysis will do little to resolve the ever-worsening environmental catastrophe, and cedes the moral high ground to those prizing individual gain over the greater good.

Instead of wasting energy on Schadenfreude, I believe it's more productive for us to come together as a species, set aside our differences, and reorganize our social and economic structures for the common benefit. Although it might sound demanding, anyone can help, and we can go a long way just by working together. Small daily choices will aggregate into powerful movements, but only if enough of us opt for sustainability over excess, demand accountability from corporations and governments, and upend the industrial capitalist machine that created this crisis.

The progress may seem glacial, intermittent, or stagnant. But this should not be rationale to give up! Besides, let's celebrate the positives, and look towards how far we've come - more people than ever, especially those most directly impacted by climate change, such as Gen Alpha and/or the Global South - are recognizing the danger we're headed for, and momentum for a just transition is building. Bottom line: the battle isn't hopeless, but if we make it hopeless, it will. Stay strong, warrior.

Ever notice how the reddest states are also the southernmost?

So YouTube has a lot of problems, there's no denying that. Frivolous and selective (not to mention automated) copyright enforcement, bureaucratic termination appeal system, COPPA idiocy, the whole clusterfuck that is monetization, etc?

In contrast, Odysee is this open-source video platform that fixes many of these problems. It took of, like, I dunno, a year ago? Thing is, it's still very inactive and dead. A lot of YouTubers have pined for a massive exodus from YouTube, which might sound familiar for many of us Lemmings here. Yet, the majority of them can't seem to let it go, since YouTube/Google pretty much exercises a monopoly on the online video sharing industry.

What worries me is that Reddit alternatives, such as Lemmy, Mastodon, or kbin, could see a similar fate to YouTube alternatives like Odysee or BitChute. I'd love to see people quit Reddit en masse and hopefully find a "safe harbor" some place like here, but I'm hearing about realistic concerns regarding even the viability of this site's databases, so I feel like the actual outcome will be more of a small dent than a massive crater.

Which is exactly what Huffman wants and he knows it.

Ugh, I hate this awful corporate creativity-stifling timeline.

This new normal of near-constant wildfire smoke annoys me as much as the next person. But it serves as a reminder that we share one fragile atmosphere that we're collectively screwing up. Fruitless to waste all this energy pointing fingers like children when we should be joining hands to fix this. It's like nature's warning signal.

Whether it be wildfire smoke, a global pandemic, or heat waves, nature know no geopolitical borders. So maybe instead of squabbling over whose smoke is whose, we could acknowledge that we're all in this smoldering mess together. We only have one planet to live on, and we only have one atmosphere to breathe from.

(just food for thought)