[Lawtan]

So, we are sort of in a bad state. This is a test we didn't want to pass.

However, to look at it positively:
This is not the point of "we are doomed", what this means is that the only way for life on Earth not to experience a severe mass extinction is through human intervention. It means that nature can't cover for human pollution alone anymore - we have to through research, technology, and conservation - help.

Thoughts?

[SparX]

First that graph really puts into perspective how quickly as a species we have screwed everything up XD
I can only hope what they said may ring true with "scary numbers could scare people into action" and hopefully?
I remember hearing earlier that America happened to join the Paris Agreement, but have not yet actually taken time to read into how they purpose to lower these levels.

"the 60 nations who have ratified the agreement so far only account for 47.76 percent of the world’s carbon emissions"

So a little less then half of the world is currently willing to admit to our mistakes and attempt to fix the issues. How are we to convince the other slightly larger half to do their part?

"Due to climate change, The Nature Conservancy suggests one fourth of Earth’s species could be on their way to extinction by 2050."

They say scary numbers scare people and this really scares me. Most of us should be still alive at this point if we die of old age, and that is definitely not something I want to see happen in my lifetime.

"As ancient glaciers begin to melt, and thermal expansion occurs, coastlines elsewhere will flood, and communities will become displaced. By 2100, approximately 13 million people in the US are projected to lose their homes due to rising sea levels"

So if I live to be 108, I may also be losing my home that I HOPE(D) would be able to become a family home for future generations. And I'm already on the Ring of Fire and the Juan de Fuca (at least I'm not on the San Andreas Fault) as it is.
Not to mention the fact that Louisiana is already disappearing as it is. And the glaciers have been melting for a while now )=


I already live in a pretty environmentally aware community, which is nice, but unfortunately we do not do as much as we could hope for. (we actually have a law in town banning plastic bags in general, so we all have paper bags again....)

I feel the biggest question is how to approach the subject in a way that will inform people and change their minds from their viewpoints onto the matter that these are facts and not political bs that they don't need to involve themselves in. =/


Edit: I wanted to see more viewpoints for this, so I posted what you said onto FR, and once I get some replies will link you to the thread so you can also see more opinions/thoughts! I thought the more the merrier, and a decent way to spread the news around hopefully....

[Coda]

So a little less then half of the world is currently willing to admit to our mistakes and attempt to fix the issues. How are we to convince the other slightly larger half to do their part?

Other way around. More than half the world is willing to admit it, but those that do have already taken steps to improve it, so the (slightly) smaller group is having a (slightly) bigger impact.

There's a plastic bag ordinance in Los Angeles too, but what ends up happening is that grocery stores sell reusable bags for cheap that just get thrown away anyway, so instead of having flimsy biodegradeable bags in the landfill, you've got heavier, sturdier bags. :/

And I DO live pretty close to the San Andreas fault. >.>;

[SparX]

It took me an hour to reread that in my head until it made sense to me XD
What can be done to cover for those who do not do their part? (if I understood correctly)

For us the reusable bags are 99c or more, and the paper bags are 5c, and quite a few stores will give you a small (TINY) price break for each bag of your own you bring in.

You do live in a dangerous place, in more then one way >.>

[mdom]

Well, to be honest there's a side of me that doesn't really mind if all humanity dies in a few generations, because I believe nature will find a way to be like it was before humans were around.

[Lawtan]

mdom, I guess what this post is saying is, "That may have been true 10 years ago, but it is no longer the case." We are past the point where nature without engineering can clean things up.

SparX, we use our own bags mostly. Things like half-broken-down school backbacks, or the knitting my grandmother does. Stores don't like it, but it cuts down on our overall bag usage. I am not sure if that is helpful or not. And I'd certainly welcome what others have to say on the matter.

[Coda]

It costs 10 cents to get one of those bags here, which is cheap enough proportional to the cost of living that most people just shrug at it and get bags anyway instead of bothering to bring their own.