As the U.S. begins its plans to exit the Paris Agreement to combat global climate change and back away from participating in the new, clean-energy-powered world, the ramifications of this choice could not be clearer. The choices made today may very well decide the destiny of the United States, if not the whole planet, when it comes to the future of our economy, security, health, and environment. It sounds dramatic to put it that way, but the threat of climate change really is that urgent, that far-reaching, and that consequential, as the scientific community has been saying for literally decades.
And, leaving the Paris Agreement is also a dramatic departure from what the majority of Americans clearly want.
So, since drama is a thing that we do here at Communitopia, here’s a new installment in our Don’t Just Sit There — Do Something! video series — just in time for this latest news. And really, this one is all about time, and how our choices now affect the future. With tongues firmly in our cheeks, the State of the Climate video is set decades from now, with a future president addressing her country on the consequences of climate action. As always, our take on the topic is seriously silly, complete with action — and a few surprises.
Climate inaction is impossibly expensive, and cedes millions of jobs and the possibility of industrial leadership to other nations. It has irreversible impacts on ecosystems around the globe, imperils low-lying coastal cities and nations across the planet, throws resource management into chaos, creating security crises and instability. And while renewables hold all kinds of economic promise, fossil fuels will become more and more difficult to extract — eventually, we will have to find a better way to get power anyway. (Though the exact point at which we “run out” of recoverable fossil fuels is the subject of some debate in the brave new world of widespread unconventional gas extraction and tar sands oil). So let’s keep working toward finding a better way, now. As we say in the video, “The Future Doesn’t Have To Suck.”
Enjoy. And please, if you haven’t already, join the chorus of those calling for a better path. (Link goes to a League of Conservation Voters petition.)
Thanks for watching and sharing.