Accountability...

[Buddy]

Accountability is something that will be coming up over the next several years.....as global warming will continues to show it's effects in various ways:  (1) continuing new record low levels of Arctic ice, (2) continuing loss of Antarctic ice, (3) increase in droughts and wildfires, (4) increasing temperatures worldwide, (5) increased extreme weather events.

The people and organizations that have lied, intentionally mislead, and stalled for the last 20 - 30 years will be held to account.  Much of that accountability will be spearheaded through social media.....as many of the political bodies are so infested with deniers......they will cover for each other (whether it is the US Congress, the government of Canada, the government of Australia, or others).

There are ONLY TWO THINGS that we do CONSCIOUSLY each and every day....and we do both of them thousands of times a day:  (1)  Make decisions, and (2) execute on decisions.

When someone lies or misleads......it leads to bad decisions, and that leads to poor results.  The increased global warming due to the continued burning of fossil fuels is partially a result of those who have lied, mislead, and stalled over the years and decades.  And it is  THEY....who need to be held into account.....openly.....and honestly.

This is just the start of what I am doing to cast some sunlight on those who have lied, mislead, and stalled over the years.

Here is just the start of what will be a list of the worst offenders....and I'll be adding many links over time.

http://climatechangegraphs.blogspot.com/2014/06/climate-trial-2020-worst-offenders.html 

[Neven]

I did a blog post on that once: And now, a word for our sponsors. I might do another one again some day.

[sidd]

I speak as one from a previous generation, beware of succumbing to revenge.

These fossil fools are small people. Yes, they have caused harm. 
Yes, some are not only stupid, but guilty.

But whatcha gonna do ? Chase down all of em and punish ? That is a waste of time and effort.

I believe we have already won the argument. Coal is dead. Oil will be. Next is gas.
The only question is, did we win fast enough to preserve roughly Holocene climate?
Not fast enough for the ice, we have destabilized Greenland and West Antarctica.
But perhaps fast enough to avoid Permian style HEATT episode.

Look to the children. They are smarter than us. They have to figure this out. Help them.
If they want to hold truth and reconciliation commissions, then they can do that.

Plant many trees. Eat less meat. Vote fossil fools outta power. Drive fewer miles. Localize.
Teach the children as well as you can.

The kids are the future. Reach them and teach them. They ain't stupid.
They have a healthy distaste for current power structures. They know exactly what's going on.
They're the ones getting screwed.

sidd

[ccgwebmaster]

I speak as one from a previous generation, beware of succumbing to revenge.

Aren't vengeance and justice different things though?

If I walk down the street and kill ten people - should I not be tried and punished? Is that vengeance or justice?

But whatcha gonna do ? Chase down all of em and punish ? That is a waste of time and effort.

Personally - yes. In practice though, I don't see it happening in any meaningful organised way. Firstly those people leading us to calamity hold (by a massive margin) the balance of power (and with it wealth and force, the last of which really rules the roost). Secondly, I find something strangely pointless about hunting down Nazi war criminals so many decades after their war crimes - and it is much the same with those who led us here, we're talking at least the last couple of generations - depending how you determine culpability (in itself a logical nightmare as we are all culpable in some measure).

In any event, given my increasingly strong conclusion that collapse is our future, the issue becomes irrelevant as the existing structures become discounted to the point of being worthless.

What I do think very important though - is the question of how to prevent such thinking from coming to dominate the human world again. All I can think is that in the future it must be a crime to act unsustainably and it must be punished severely enough to prevent people from such behaviours. In some senses, these behaviours can be worse than murder (worse than a war crime, say) because not only are members of current generations (at least mine and later) going to pay a very steep price - but members of generations for the indefinitely foreseeable future will suffer (again there is the minor problem that almost everyone in an affluent westernised society is guilty in some measure in the current day context...).

Just as we don't let citizens (though we do apparently let governments do it) walk around murdering people, we shouldn't later accept equivalent through unsustainable behaviour. Unchecked unsustainable behaviour yields short term gains working to the advantage of the group practising them, and hence requires (in my view) a strong disincentive applied.

I believe we have already won the argument. Coal is dead. Oil will be. Next is gas.
The only question is, did we win fast enough to preserve roughly Holocene climate?
Not fast enough for the ice, we have destabilized Greenland and West Antarctica.
But perhaps fast enough to avoid Permian style HEATT episode.

I don't think the argument is remotely won. Global carbon dioxide emissions are continuing to increase year on year, even as increasingly obvious and serious consequences accumulate.

Even without an end Permian type event, I think one is looking at truly catastrophic outcomes (human mortality billions to a majority) and that's just looking at climate related effects, let alone resource depletion vs population type issues. We're already leaving the Holocene climate, and I don't think there's any realistic chance to finish near it (sulphate aerosols from industrial pollution virtually guarantee that single handed, let alone all other factors).

Look to the children. They are smarter than us. They have to figure this out. Help them.
If they want to hold truth and reconciliation commissions, then they can do that.

Plant many trees. Eat less meat. Vote fossil fools outta power. Drive fewer miles. Localize.
Teach the children as well as you can.

The kids are the future. Reach them and teach them. They ain't stupid.
They have a healthy distaste for current power structures. They know exactly what's going on.
They're the ones getting screwed.

Generally speaking, nothing to disagree with there (although I think you'll find mostly apathy in the younger generations to date) but only one question - if one believes collapse is baked into the cake - one ought to be teaching children to try to navigate that and to recover afterwards, yes? Perhaps equipping too, not just teaching.

Those with the wealth and power don't give a cent for the rest of us - and we shouldn't look to them for a path to a future. The only future can be without such people, almost regardless of what path achieves that.

[Buddy]

I speak as one from a previous generation, beware of succumbing to revenge.

It's not about REVENGE.  It's about ACCOUNTABILITY.  Without accountability....society never learns.  Look at the Vietnam War.  It is a very important lesson for humanity.  If you ever have the chance to look back into some history of the 1960's....and look at some old video footage it is quite instructive.  Wayne Morris was the LONE VOTE against going to war in Vietnam.  And the discussions were much like the discussions that were held among Congress before going into Iraq.

Of course....back then.....the "fear" was the "communist domino theory" (if Vietnam fell....then surely everything else in SE Asia would also fall to communism. (but it was the Democrats leading the charge into war behind Lyndon Johnson).  That domino theory proved to be wrong....just as the theory bandied about now is wrong.

In Iraq....the war mongers used the same type of philosophy and fear.  If we "allow" Iraq to fall...then certainly it will create a breeding ground that will come back to haunt us.

Now.....shift to global warming.....and you see many around that are using the air waves and internet to promote "possible financial doom" if the planet try's to constrain fossil fuels in any way.  The thrust of the fossil fuel folks (and those working for them) is that "the cost of the cure is way more that the cost of the disease."

Of course....that is a FALSE.  But those in the PR business are pushing their pro-fossil fuel agenda AND using lies to do so.

Journalists SHOULD BE THE ONES that are calling them out.  But they are doing a HORRIBLE JOB.  With FOX News leading the parade of climate change deniers.

FOX News and others need to be held accountable for their lies........just as those who were eager to jump into war with Iraq need to be held accountable.

The Iraq War:
1)  Wasn't won in 2 months
2)  Did cause the death of thousands of US soldiers (and hundreds of thousands of others)
3)  Did cost trillions of dollars even though Bush, Chaney, Wolfowitz, Bill Kristol, and many others said it wouldn't

Global warming:
1)  Is being caused by humans even though FOX News, Bill Kristol, and host of others are either (a) not looking at research, (b) are lying about it, and/or (c) grossly misleading and not using facts.
2)  Is far less expensive to deal with now, rather than NOT DEALING WITH IT NOW and paying a HUGE PRICE later.

If you want to see someone hold someone accountable PUBLICLY....here's a clip of Bill Kristol being held into account over the last week regarding Iraq:

http://www.salon.com/2014/06/29/katrina_vanden_heuvel_calls_out_bill_kristol_and_armchair_warriors_over_iraq/

Bill Kristol (editor of the Weekly Standard) is also one who is denying that man is the cause of global warming now.

Journalists need TO DO THEIR JOB.  Their job is to search for the truth.....not one side or the other.  If journalists would have been doing their job on global warming....we would be a LOT further down the road to mitigating the effects of fossil fuels than we are now.

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." Albert Einstein

[Buddy]

Neven:

Later this year....will be the BEGINNING of accountability for those who have been wrongfully, and maliciously denying global warming.  It will likely be a period of a decade or more....but it will start later this year.

Why now?

1)  Arctic ice sheet will set a record low (again)....and perhaps a SMASHING record low.  All the pieces are in place for that to happen.  If the record gets obliterated....."they" have nowhere to go (although many of them certainly won't give up....ignorance and greed have no limits).

2)  Record setting atmospheric temperatures again this year globally.  That has already started in the first 3 months of this year.

3)  The Pope coming out with their statement on human caused global warming in the coming weeks/months.

Sadly....the Pope coming out with their statement, will likely be the biggest arrow in the heart of deniers.  I would like to think that "intelligent life" could reach a decision by looking at facts and science (which leads me to believe we are NOT intelligent life).

There will likely be other "events"....just as there have been over the past 20 - 30 years.  Wildfires in Siberia....wildfires in California and Canada.....continued drought conditions in the western US...etc.  We're still at the beginning of the warming we humans have committed the planet to over coming decades.

But a "more pronounced pointing of accountability" will start to take place THIS YEAR.  And FOX News will right at the middle of it (who knew....they are so "fair and balanced"....

I hope EVERYONE....while still focusing on SOLUTIONS to the current problem (which comes first and foremost)....will also NOT FOGET to hold those accountable for lying and misleading:

FOX News
Bill Crystal
Bill O'Reilly
Sean Hannity
Senator Inhofe
Joe Bastardi
George Will
etc....etc...etc..

The issue that is larger in my mind is this:  Humanity has to come up with BETTER DECISIONS....EARLIER.  And that includes global warming....but is NOT LIMITED to global warming.  I think it will be part of humanity's evolution into intelligent life (some day in the far off future).

There are ONLY TWO THINGS we do each and every day:  (1)  make decisions, and (2) execute on decisions.  In order for humanity to have a long life on earth....we have to make BETTER DECISIONS.  And better decisions comes with better information...FACTS....science....better communication....AND ACCOUNTABILITY.  We do a HORRIBLE JOB of accountability.  THAT....needs to change (and I think it is BEGINNING to change...but will take a LONG TIME).