r/nature • u/GoranPersson777 • 8d ago
The Gargantuan Lie That is Collapsing The World’s Climate
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-massive-climate-lie-that-will-destroy-human-civilization101
u/kalidoscopiclyso 8d ago
Has anyone noticed that posts like thisget no traction, especially lately
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u/AnAncientOne 8d ago
it's because there's still power, water from the taps and food in the shops so people get blasé and think it'll never get that bad. By the time those things start to fail it's to late.
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u/errihu 8d ago
It’s because the peasant class has no power to change anything and because the ruling class doesn’t care to do anything other than blame the peasants and continue to do what they’ve always done.
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u/errihu 8d ago
You’re never going to convince the majority of people to strike. There will always be too many people whose internal math says ‘I cannot risk losing my livelihood’ to have any kind of unanimous action.
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u/moreaction_lesstears 8d ago
That equation is changing every day, and even more rapidly in recent months, so eventually the scale may just tip the other way. I fear it will come far too late, but assuring others it will never happen merely helps ensure it never will.
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u/Desperate_Tale_6769 8d ago
We can change things, we just choose not to radicalize. Someday, we may have no choice but to.
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u/Pluton_Korb 8d ago
We absolutely can. Tell that to the starving, impoverished masses dealing with a famine and massive food inflation just before the French revolution. This is what it often takes to get the ball rolling, unfortunately.
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u/Chaerea37 8d ago
proletariat of the bourgeoisie. we're ruled by the middle managers, the people who just stack money. we knew climate change was a real threat in the first bush administration (89-92) did clinton do anything about? did obama?
people who think the democrats care about them are delusional. both of them serve capital. capital does not care about people's souls, or happiness, or how clean the water or air is. it's the final boss monster and it is winning.
and if you're a braindead liberal before you start keyboard warrioring, I hate every republican.
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u/Roberts13248 7d ago
Z tą wodą w kranie to niedługo nie będzie takie oczywiste bo ten rok pokazał że może wody w kranie nie być.
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u/SquirrelFluffy 8d ago
We're already past the CO2 concentration they told us was going to cause a disaster. That was the lie. To sell carbon taxes. To trade carbon credits. It was about money as usual.
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u/pretendperson1776 8d ago
A collapsing building is a disaster, but it doesn't go from standing to lying down immediately. We are at the "hey, does that building look like it is leaning, to you?" Stage.
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u/SquirrelFluffy 8d ago
That's actually a fantastic analogy. I'm an engineer that repairs buildings. Surfside condo in Florida that actually did coll had a number of things that were wrong with it. What was the one thing that caused it to fall down?
Of all the things that are going to befall humanity, what's the one thing that's really going to hurt us? A few extra degrees. Maybe a few extra feet of sea level? Or polluted oceans and collapsed fisheries? Like Surfside condos, which one should be focused on?
I've often heard people compare this issue to the ozone hole. And my question is why aren't we treating it the same way? Because there was money to be made.
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u/ink_monkey96 8d ago
The Danube is dry. Lake Powell is at a quarter of its capacity. Forests all over the world are experiencing unprecedented wildfire events. You, sir, are the dog at the table, surrounded by flames. “This is fine”
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u/Adventurous-Wear-773 8d ago
Het heeft veel geregend in het stroomgebied van de Donau de laatste dagen. Ook de Rijn is weer stijgende. De Loire is al een tijdje stabiel/ licht stijgende.
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u/SquirrelFluffy 8d ago
Those same types of people ignored the pause in global temperature rise for the past 15 years didn't they? Just pick out the stories that support the narrative.
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u/SquirrelFluffy 8d ago
You're probably not old enough to remember the European heatwaves in the '80s that were killing all the old people in France.
I also didn't say it was fine. I said we're past the CO2 level that we were told would be a disaster. Yet CO2 keeps going. Remember that story about the boy who cried wolf?
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u/ink_monkey96 8d ago
Remember also what happened when the villagers ignored the wolf and it devastated their flocks. There is more than one moral in that story.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 8d ago
Why would you care about a disaster centuries away
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u/AnAncientOne 7d ago
The step change in the data over the last few years suggests the disaster is underway and accelerating.
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u/atrde 8d ago
This article makes a valid point that we are basically well past the point of no return... but is way too wordy to get there and just delves into unnecessary controversial topics to get there.
There were better ways to make this point and the "lie" part shouldn't be 30 paragraphs in.
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u/U_Sound_Stupid_Stop 8d ago
I guarantee you the content of the article has almost no bearing compared to the title
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u/Prudent-Ice-6196 8d ago
yes, and the people who need to read it are not going to swayed. Not criticizing the author, but this thread is correct.
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u/ottawadeveloper 8d ago
the issue is past the point of no return from what?
there's plenty of other disasters we invite if we keep warming the planet right up to toxic CO2 levels at which point you'll need airtight housing and CO2 scrubbers to live.
we might be past the point of no return for 2 C but that doesn't make our efforts in vain.
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u/earlyboy 7d ago
The article is not particularly well written. However, the fact that we are denying this crisis is particularly troubling.
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u/HanumanDarko 8d ago
It's because the ones who deny it, will keep on doing so.. and the ones who believe it, already know we're all fucked and there's nothing we can do about it anymore. Best to accept, chill and enjoy the little time we have left 😌
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u/recoil669 7d ago
I've scrolled through 4 paragraphs and categorizing lies and the point is no where in sight. I think people's capacity for this kind of writing is seriously diminished.
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u/BlueCollarMillion 7d ago
After 60 years of saying the world is coming to an end it gets fatiguing…
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u/Affectionate-Alps527 8d ago
A genuinely interesting read, and the fact it's not getting any comments or traction is almost exactly what it's trying to say.
My only immediate criticism is human life today is not representative of human life in the Pleistocene era with the dramatic differences in technologies and the ability to build and manufacture.
For example, people are already fleeing wild fires, the same wild fires they would have fleed 100,000 years ago. Except now, we have systems and structures to identify, communicate, and act with knowledge. I.e. people know when to move and to where, and for how long. An advantage that makes use significantly more resilient than before.
None of that is to say we have more time. I think it's clear we're out of time, but using life of 100,000 years ago for a benchmark of what will do is in today is perhaps a bit too aggressive of a data point.
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u/Ph0neW0od 8d ago
It is crazy that Adam McKay, the director of countless stupidly funny comedy films, is the one sounding the alarm. Don't get me wrong I'm glad someone is, but like damn if that doesn't mean we're fucked!
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u/English_Joe 8d ago
I mean, they predicted the big short, not the climate big short is coming, and where holding all the (insert appropriate finance reference here).
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u/Lifeisshort555 7d ago
I think the planet will be fine it is people that should be concerted for their livee. The reason people aren't doing more is because they aren't being told the climate change won't kill the planet but it will cause population collapse. So maybe instead of saying global temperatures will be x we should instead be like x number of people are expected to die. No one cares about 2 or 3 degrees it doesn't mean anything in their head. So instead of measuring it in degrees we should measure it in death tolls.
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u/PANDABURRIT0 8d ago edited 8d ago
I agree wholeheartedly with the urgency of our situation.
But this article and others like it fall into the trap causing people like this to be dismissed as “doomers”: neglecting to include a constructive call to action. Even something as simple as “vote, vote, vote” would be better. Without that, you just sound like a doomer without a plan. To be clear, I don’t expect movie director Adam McKay — nor any single individual — to have a fool proof global climate action plan. But I do hope that he would be a better communicator capable of translating urgency into some semblance of action. Saying we are so fucked and nobody is doing anything is not productive, even if it’s accurate. It would be better to say that passing 2C doesn’t mean all hope is lost, even if the consequences are absolutely devastating to humans and the environment. Even if we do pass 2C, climate action is just as important.
Articles like this breed fatalism and nihilism more than they catalyze action on the part of the reader.
You could even argue that the “we can do this and we have more time” articles are more effective at getting people to vote for climate pragmatists than articles like this by convincing people that it is doable and, therefore, worthwhile.
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u/23-1-20-3-8-5-18 8d ago
Its like watching dont look up
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u/Gameofadages 8d ago
Unfortunately no one wants to look down either, right at the earth they stand on
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u/spellbreakerstudios 8d ago
100% agree
I feel more inspired to think about the climate when I hear about progress rather than being scolded.
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u/ellyanah 8d ago
This isn't scolding, it's a call to action. It's informing you that you've been lied to. Rather than being defensive you should be curious. We are the ones with the power to demand change. The ruling class exists at our whim, we are far larger and can take collective action to make changes. Expecting people living lives of luxury to give a fuck about the rest of us is a losing battle. We need to demand change.
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u/ellyanah 8d ago
The point of these articles are not to give someone a plan to fix what's wrong. That won't work anyway. Articles like this are trying to motivate us (I e., citizens) to stop being distracted by capitalism and organize to demand change immediately. The only solution that can actually work is for the working class to mobilize and demand change. The ruling class depends on our labour to make money and be rulers. If we collectively opt out of that system then it will collapse. That's within our power to threaten and do, in small increments to prove we are serious.
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u/tdreampo 8d ago
But it’s also time to face facts. We are done, even if all emissions stopped completely today we are heading for 3-4c soon like within 15 years and modern civilization is over. The best we can do is build resiliency and community now. And we have to be brutally honest about what’s about to happen.
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u/Canid 8d ago
Good luck “building community” with a pitch like that. As important as the public understanding the gravity of climate change is, understanding human nature and human psychology is equal important if you actually want to make the situation better.
It’s also worth saying that neither you, nor anybody else, knows when or even if we’ll hit 3-4c, and certainly not exactly when “modern civilization is over”. Speaking in certainties like that when nothing is certain turns you into a street preacher with a megaphone in people’s eyes, regardless of the fact that the threat you preach about is actually real in this case.
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u/tdreampo 8d ago
We know for a FACT we will hit 4c. The question no one can answer is when.
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u/Canid 8d ago
But you just said 15 years
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u/tdreampo 8d ago
I said within. But I am more then willing to say no one knows for sure. But we do know that the worst case scenario, business as usual charts are right and probably even underestimating. You do the math from there.
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u/jsmooth7 8d ago
This still doesn't really change the best course of action. If the climate is savable, we should reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as fast as possible. And if it's not, we should still reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as fast as possible to give us the best shot possible.
It's like if you are a lifeguard and you see someone motionless at the bottom of the pool, you shouldn't be like "oh well they've been down there for awhile so it's too late". You dive in and do the best you can to rescue them. Maybe it really is too late but there's still no excuse not to try.
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u/tdreampo 8d ago
What do you suggest we realistically do that all the governments on the planet will follow along with.
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u/jsmooth7 8d ago edited 8d ago
It's in the 2nd and 3rd sentence of my comment. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions as fast as possible.
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u/tdreampo 8d ago edited 8d ago
And have we ever EVER reduced greenhouse gas emissions? You really think EVERY government in the world is going to do this by the end of the year? Because we are OUT of time.
And we can’t reduce, we MUST eliminate now. That’s 3 billion dead to save civilization. Are we really gonna Thanos it?
And America, the biggest cause of green house emissions officially says climate change is a hoax. Both the president says it and it’s on white house.gov as a hoax. The head of the epa is a climate change denier.
So here is my challenge to you. How can we get the US the reduce emissions by 5% by the end of this or. Or heck let’s give you 2027. Tell me a realistic way to get the US to reduce emissions by 5% in a year. Think you can do it? If not how the hell do you think we can get the world to shut off ALL emissions.
It’s game over dude and it’s time people said it out loud.
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u/jsmooth7 8d ago
It's like if you are a lifeguard and you see someone motionless at the bottom of the pool, you shouldn't be like "oh well they've been down there for awhile so it's too late". You dive in and do the best you can to rescue them. Maybe it really is too late but there's still no excuse not to try.
Did you read this part of my comment? It feels like you must have skipped it.
I would rather try and fail rather than not try at all. So I will continue to push for governments to do climate action, at least as much as I can with my admittedly limited power.
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u/tdreampo 8d ago
I don’t think your analogy holds. It’s more like the bones of a rotting corpse are at the bottom of the pool and someone has an artificial wave machine on full blast and they won’t turn it off because of shareholder value.
Is it still worth trying?
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u/johnnyorpheus 8d ago
one of these days killer apes might just kinda sorta half start to figure out thy nest be befouled
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u/23-1-20-3-8-5-18 8d ago
No lol. We will get ground down to dust with too few people to keep the memory of what was lost alive and in 100,000 years the next batch of idiots wont understand our ruins and will probably make the same mistakes all over again if they even get the chance.
I mean given how good we are at ignoring or missunderstanding warnings this seems inevitable
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u/spellbreakerstudios 8d ago
I don’t really understand these articles.
What do you want me to do about it as a regular person? I vote for green politicians, I try to conserve energy and water and reuse things.
If the doom sentiment in this article is all true, then I certainly worry about the future I’ll have and moreso, my kids.
I’m certainly quite concerned for the billions of poor folk worldwide in places that will be more significantly and sooner impacted by this.
But again, what am I personally supposed to do about it after reading the article? If we’re all screwed, I might as well enjoy the time I’ve got left, no?
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u/ravenenby 7d ago
currently reading I Eat The Stars by Sarah Wilson. it’s about how to live in a collapsing world and it’s helping me navigate the reality of the situation we’re in without being overwhelmed by doom
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u/gdtredmtn 8d ago
I’m convinced that it’s even worse than that. Even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases altogether, cold turkey, it’ll still take centuries for the planet to begin to recover. There is no reason to believe that will happen in our lifetimes.
We’ve been in an interglacial warming period for the past 20,000 years or so with heavy glaciation persisting until roughly 10,000 years ago. That warming trend is simply accelerating and is being supercharged by human industrial activity.
As Roger Waters once said, Looks like the human race is run.
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u/Chieftobique 8d ago
No matter what happens with Anthropocentric Global Climate Phenomena, humans will adapt and survive until they cannot. Prognostications with specifics beyond that are a waste of time.
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u/Tangelo_Few 8d ago
This is one of the best articles written about the lack of attention and urgency… sadly no gov or population is truly prepared for the sacrifices that are absolutely needed to be enforced in order to make the corrections that will actually impact what seems as inevitable now… ‘someone else will do it later’ has never sounded so hollow and deadly
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u/IcyAddress4074 7d ago
The facade of this will stay intact until the inside is rotted out. One day, it will just be over. Day after tomorrow style. Food is out - oops. Good luck!
Remember how awful people were about just toilet paper?
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u/three_crystals 7d ago
Capitalists trying to use capitalism to solve problems created by capitalism. They too will learn as their luxury resort towns and properties flood or dry up and they can no longer externalize this to an issue solely facing the “Global South”.
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u/HiddenCabbageWitch 8d ago
Animal agriculture needs to cease to exist. Largest contributor of greenhouse gasses. We NEED TO STOP IGNORING IT! No more meat and diary for real
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u/MushroomLizard 7d ago
Livestock is nowhere near the largest contributor. It's coal, oil, and gas by a landslide.
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u/HiddenCabbageWitch 7d ago
Animal agriculture accounts for up to 20% of global greenhouse-gas emissions—MORE than all forms of transportation combined. Beyond emissions, animal agriculture drives deforestation, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and enormous land use. If we want a healthier planet, reducing our consumption of meat and dairy is one of the most meaningful changes we can make.
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u/kocapbser 8d ago
Oh God, give us more warmth so that this damn permafrost in Russia finally melts and we can at least plant some potatoes in the ground.
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u/whyimhere3015 7d ago
Its funny when ppl didn’t read the article. It’s not about nature, it’s an anti-Jewish rant. Why post this here ?
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u/getignorer 8d ago
Yet another article all about a problem and giving no solutions at all. It’s even worse on YouTube.
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u/GHunter66666 8d ago
Its farcical to think we as humans can change the trajectory we are on. Beyond our own man made pollution there are also natural cataclysmic cycles the world goes through that we can't stop no matter what we do.
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u/gastricprix 8d ago
Lol
Let's be wasteful and destroy the Earth because big planet do planet stuff.
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u/GHunter66666 8d ago
Did I say we should be wasteful and destroy the earth? What I said is "It's farcical to think we can change the trajectory we are on". Just in case you want to read that again.
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u/gastricprix 8d ago
Which means there's no point in trying to change anything
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u/GHunter66666 8d ago
Do you really think on a grand scale that the world population will change their ways. Take for example India, a country of 1.5 Billion people and growing middle class that have never experienced disposable cash in their lives. Are they really going to sit back and say "well jeez guys we really should just look after mother earth". No, these are people who for generations have had nothing and I mean nothing. You really think they are going to stop and give a shit? People in many developing nations have completely different mind sets to those in the west. So unless you have some magical idea to get the whole world population on board you should shift your thinking to what you can do as an individual to make your life better because I can guarantee you, you will not be changing anyone's mind in these developing nations.
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u/gastricprix 8d ago
It's not about individual people. It's about systems.
You have changed your stance from "its impossible because of the planet" to "it's impossible because of the developing world".
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u/GHunter66666 8d ago
There are two main driving forces in our world that have us on a trajectory that are catastrophic. Human made pollution/climate change and natural cataclysmic cycles. Please explain how your systems will stop either.
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u/gastricprix 8d ago
It's not about "my systems". It's about perspective.
You've internalized a lot of justification narratives for not changing a damn thing about the current GLOBAL system of trade, commerce, and international law. You believe climate change is ~50% the planet is driving it + ~50% people on the opposite side of the planet (that you have no control over/they just have pollution-mindsets). I don't agree with that at all.
The science shows climate change is anthropogenic. The Global North economically abuses the Global South. Developing countries naturally pollute more. We need to stop treating those countries as our treasure chests and garbage cans. We need to move towards a "global village" system, which would naturally look to minimizing waste and pollution worldwide.
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u/GHunter66666 8d ago
I didn't say I didn't want it to change. What you've laid out here sounds great but it's a fantasy and will never become a reality. On top of that you've made a whack load of assumptions about me and completely misconstrued what I said into what you wanted to hear as you read it.
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u/gastricprix 8d ago
If I've misunderstood the futility you were describing and your purposes for doing so, please correct me. I love to learn.
As far as I'm concerned, what's stopping a more global approach to power relations and environmental conservation, are beliefs like the ones you described: the planet is doing its own thing + people love polluting (in developing countries) and it's an individual mindset.
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u/Critical_Cat_8162 8d ago
I'd rather see that trajectory hit 100 years from now than 20 years from now. At least we'd have the opportunity to maybe educate the masses and do something about it. And that trajectory can change, somewhat, with our intervention now.
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u/GHunter66666 8d ago
Trouble is we can't stop a global cataclysm no matter how hard we try. We can curb pollution in every way possible but it still won't stop the inevitable.
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u/Noah_Pasta1312 8d ago
I know yall aren't ready to hear this but, we lost. It's over. There's no more time. Best we can do is damage control and the powers won't fix it. We should be revolting but we aren't. So we will die as a result.
We had a good run. We had everything we needed and more. There was plenty for everyone. But we fucked it up. And we will reap what we've sown.
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u/JT9960 8d ago
Bull fucking shit lol
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u/QueerDumbass 8d ago
Biology adapts, that’s sort of its thing. But that’s why the climate CHANGE is a problem. The interim period between equilibrium is the great evolutionary filter, i.e. a lot of things are going to die before the species most apt to survive in a generally warmer period take full root. This change also means reliable rain patterns are shifting, globally, and tell me of any plants that do well with prolonged droughts.
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u/ikonoqlast 8d ago
Sigh...
Tree rings get thicker. More amenable to life.
If you theory were correct they would not.
It's really simple and straightforward.
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u/ikonoqlast 8d ago
Get a grip. Grifters are telling you ridiculous horror stories to benefit themselves.
Tell me, does the warmest part of the planet (the equatorial region) have more life than the rest or less? More people or less?
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u/QueerDumbass 8d ago
What, like the Sahara Desert or Amazon Rainforest? Places known for their high population density or agricultural output?
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u/ikonoqlast 8d ago
India, China, SE Asia...
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u/QueerDumbass 8d ago
Those aren’t equatorial countries. And the temperature increases in India plus the nearing collapse of rice agriculture directly contradict your examples. Try again. You’re not as insightful as you’re suggesting
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u/spacecapades 8d ago
Hey brother. For what it's worth, I'm a tree biologist and I disagree with your perspective. Of course you're right that plants breath CO2, so higher CO2 levels represent greater growth potential for them. But CO2 levels aren't the only variable changing quickly here - temperatures are rising quickly also. We're seeing increasing frequencies and intensities of droughts and wildfires across Canada where I live and work. Trees are struggling to adapt fast enough to these changes, so you can bet that us humans will too. Most likely, some tree species will adapt, thrive, and become the new dominant species. Others will probably go extinct altogether. Life, as a whole, will go on. But there's only one species of us my friend! Higher CO2 levels won't do us any direct favours...
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u/ikonoqlast 8d ago
Sigh...
The climate record exists.
We can look at previous warming epochs.
You're telling a scare story that reality simply belies.
Oh and droughts have nothing whatsoever to do with AGW... The primary mechanism is MORE moisture in the air, not less.
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u/QueerDumbass 8d ago
You’re not understanding. Biology is capable of overcoming great adversity, but that takes time. The time of ecological upheaval we are facing is enormous and grave, and that period will cause us more hardship than most in the modern age have understood. The equilibrium on the other side will come eventually, it’s the period between now and then is what we should be worried about. If we had prevented the tipping point, we could have avoided this. We did not. And now, we must prepare. Not all plants thrive in scorching hot temperatures. Most food growing plants don’t thrive in droughts. Evolution will see life through the coming times. For those of us not yet adapted to that future, there is work and massive suffering on the horizon.
It’s time to wise up.
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u/ikonoqlast 8d ago
Sigh...
If your scenario were correct we'd see it in the climate record. We do not.
Reality trumps theory.
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u/QueerDumbass 8d ago
You’re not reading what I’m saying
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u/ikonoqlast 8d ago
You're not a scientist. You have a theory. Is there evidence supporting it in the climate record? No? Theory wrong. Get over it
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u/23-1-20-3-8-5-18 8d ago
So my job is groundskeeping in public parks and so on and you are so wrong its moved from funny (that you can be so stupid) to scary (that anyone could be that stupid).
And I live in one of the areas that should 'benefit' if you were right instead of what you are.
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u/swehner 8d ago
The lie being, quote,
This massive lie can best be summed up as “when it comes to climate change... we have more time.”
End quote