RE: What do you think will save us, if anything? (in terms of climate action)
i think it depends on who remains in control in the political arenas.
right now we have politicians who are willing to obscure the issues and blame other factors, or pretend it doesnt exist, in order to not deal with the realities of how it will effect business and buying habits. they want to keep making money. they will put money into smearing and belittling to keep it from being a relevant issue, just like they put money into keeping their position.
I think there are many people who will follow that lead, because admitting the earth is in trouble is just too damned scary, and trying to change the habits of a lifetime and give up all the wasteful perks of living the entitled life we lead brings out the greed, racism and ill will inherent in our social structure.
i think what could possibly save us is technology, and awareness. but it might just take a revolution, or war, to overthrow the people at top who just dont give a damn.
Collective awareness, yes! I'm not even sure if such a thing is possible. Like a mass awakening? If so, THAT could be the thing that saves us. Otherwise it will be the usual stuff that's been mentioned: poverty, starvation, political instability, violent revolutions and counter revolutions, racism, genocide, oppression, only to start the list again.
yes collective awareness, and at some level we are starting to see it, but not enough to go to war. one lesson from my school days talks of a paradigm shift. it can occur suddenly, or gradually, depending on social forces. for instance when copernicus discovered the sun to be the center of the universe @1543, he was ridiculed by the church. it wasnt until newtons work almost 100 years later that it started to become more accepted. so it is with climate change, which scientists hypotheisized on way back in the 1970s. here it is 50 years later and science is still divided, the populace even more so. why? because the nature of climate change challenges the way we view the earth and our economics. since our life is based off the belief that capitalism is the best thing since sliced bread, the two ideas cannot exist harmoniously. we need to wait for the synthesis of ideas. hypothesis-antithesis > synthesis.
spot on.
it is so so scary, isn't it? i feel like the collective unconscious of our time is also grappling with this reality that we are in a very scary time. i know i am having a hard time "dealing with it" - facing it emotionally, really, because it's so heavy and horrible and what do we dooo? i can't imagine how kids are psychologically dealing with it. where is the future? not that there is ever any "real security", but other generations haven't had to grapple with the end of the species within their lifetimes in such a big way as this (there have obviously always been apocalyptic scenarios.
agree. we are starting to have more awareness around this aspect: https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/names-and-locations-of-the-top-100-people-killing-the-planet/?fbclid=IwAR3uRWbqSNFXmE43b7Yw6fQ8a5-Rd62JzW9ljEDepXvXJJfY-34sPp7R4hg
what does it look like to address this? i'm not such a fan of just killing the people at the top because i do believe more people will just pop up in their places, that's why in my answer to this question i also think it's a part of everyone who makes up the system as it stands now must leave their roles. if people stop going to work (obviously people need money, but we can also start to create alternative economies as a part of taking our power back), these companies that are destroying the earth will take a major hit. if people stop buying their products, another hit. there are ways to make monoliths topple and if we are upholding them, that means us walking away. but as you say, people want to keep their habits and their things, and that is a very real aspect of our current predicament.
well, how easy would it be to get rid of the people at the top? it would take a nation, and while we are busy fighting over democrat vs republican, they keep playing their game. it requires a strong show of "none of the above" or votes for an independent libertarian to make them edgy.
other than that it would take a war. we are already undergoing a silent war, waged by the people at top who want to control the worlds economy. ie world bank. i think this is a huge danger, and to be avoided at all costs.
we basically need to change the structure of the government to include no money in politics, getting rid of the perks like lifetime salary and unlimited healthcare. politicians dont really care about the pay as much as the perks and power to influence legislature.
making laws to write in loopholes for tax evasion and environmental "gifts" like access to natural resources is a huge boon for businesses. also. we need to control crossover - people from business/banks to cabinetholders and special interest groups needs to be curtailed imho, so there is no conflict of interest. thats just a minimum.
another place that needs to be controlled is the power of the banks/stock market. did you notice how quickly FB get dragged into court over libra? the main concern was that libra would not compete with the federal reserve and take over the currency. that FB even has the power to do this is attested to by financial backers.
i used to be a "democrat", i guess, because im liberal. but i do agree that the government has way too much control, even in the republican aspect of it. I would urge decentralization of government, to put the control back into the hands of the people.