OUT OF THE BOX #2: News/Media Curation: What lockdown means for humanity & climate change.

ecotrain (70)adminin ecoTrain • 5 years ago

One way to describe the effects of a global lockdown is that it's like all the bullshit got thrown out the window, overnight! What patterns and priorities we had all held sacred for all long as time can remember, just dissolved. The global relief on humanity is palpable. People who struggled and worked so hard, some in multiple jobs, just to pay the rent, have been 'relieved of duty'. They no longer have to live under the threat of losing their home because they can't work hard enough to pay the bills. We are starting to finally see an effort to protect homeless people, especially in the UK where large stimulus bills have popped up 'out of nowhere'. Wherever Corona came from, and whatever the real motivations behind our current global predicament, I do keep seeing so many very many huge opportunities for changes happening as a consequence.

So this Out Of The Box curartion is focussing on climate issues relating to COVID 19. There is a lot to keep our eyes on, and now more than ever we need to raise awareness on global climate issues. There are also some things to be very positive about, oh and don't miss the Podcast from the one and only Russell Brand, this week talking with Dr. Shefali, parenting expert and a fountain of wisdom. about Parenting.

Carbon emissions from fossil fuels could fall by 2.5bn tonnes in 2020

Global carbon emissions from the fossil fuel industry could fall by a record 2.5bn tonnes this year, a reduction of 5%, as the coronavirus pandemic triggers the biggest drop in demand for fossil fuels on record.

The unprecedented restrictions on travel, work and industry due to the coronavirus is expected to cut billions of barrels of oil, trillions of cubic metres of gas and millions of tonnes of coal from the global energy system in 2020 alone, according to data commissioned by the Guardian.

This would lead to the fossil fuel industry’s biggest drop in CO2 emissions on record, in a single year eclipsing the carbon slumps triggered by the largest recessions of the last 50 years combined.

The coronavirus outbreak is part of the climate change crisis

Despite the persistent climate denialism in some policy circles, by now it is clear to the majority across the world that climate change is happening as a result of human activity - namely industrial production.

In order to continue producing - and being able to declare that their economy is growing - humans are harvesting the natural resources of the planet - water, fossil fuels, timber, land, ore, etc - and plugging them into an industrial cycle which puts out various consumables (cars, clothes, furniture, phones, processed food etc) and a lot of waste.

This process depletes the natural ability of the environment to balance itself and disrupts ecological cycles (for example deforestation leads to lower CO2 absorption by forests), while at the same time, it adds a large amount of waste (for example CO2 from burned fossil fuels). This, in turn, is leading to changes in the climate of our planet.

First Person: COVID-19 is not a silver lining for the climate, says UN Environment chief

Greenhouse gas emissions are down and air quality has gone up, as governments react to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, has cautioned against viewing this as a boon for the environment. In this First Person editorial, Ms. Andersen calls instead for a profound, systemic shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061082

Coronavirus response proves the world can act on climate change

In the past few weeks, governments around the world have enacted dramatic measures to mitigate the threat of COVID-19.

It’s too soon to know whether these measures will prove too little to limit mass mortality, or so extreme that they set off economic catastrophe. But what is absolutely clear is that the pandemic response is in stark contrast to the lack of effective action on climate change, despite a number of similarities between the two threats.

The alarms for both COVID-19 and climate change were sounded by experts, well in advance of visible crises. It is easy to forget, but at the time of this writing, the total deaths from COVID-19 are less than 9,000 — it is the terrifying computer model predictions of much larger numbers that have alerted governments to the need for swift action, despite the disruption this is causing to everyday life.

Yet computer models of climate change also predict a steady march of increasing deaths, surpassing 250,000 people per year within two decades from now.

As scientists who have studied climate change and the psychology of decision-making, we find ourselves asking: Why do the government responses to COVID-19 and climate change — which both require making difficult decisions to avert future disasters — differ so dramatically? We suggest four important reasons.

Change Your Parenting, Change The World! | Russell Brand Podcast

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