There is always a way. It is just often from a different direction than you would have otherwise imagined. Think about how people who didnt want to be asked to sacrifice anything in covid quickly became full blown anti-vax and alternative medicine quacks, election deniers, anti trans etc. It works in reverse as well. You just need to figure out which is the central pilar that if removed will see the rest of it crumble down.
I have seen it happen with several of my former “conservative” friends. We are now aligned on issues like police violence yet it wasn’t any rational conversation about that issue that did it, but the realization the conservative movement is full of shit and a requirement on their part to reevaluate every premise about politics and society they previously had.
Congratulations on making it to Yellowstone. Most people from the UK don’t venture to such places, and limit their American forays to things like Disney, New York or Vegas. As an expat one of the best things about living here is the diverse and vast landscape, mountains, lakes, beaches, prairies, etc. with the accompanying wildlife.
I was in Yellowstone a few years ago and we had a special treat, as a grizzly had killed an elk and she was with her cubs eating on it. The ranger kept us at a safe distance, but you could watch them really clearly. The ranger said that they would be there for 2-3 days eating the elk before moving on. One fascinating sight was the dead coyote at the scene. The ranger told us a bear cub - they were not tiny cubs, had attacked the coyote and killed it because it was trying to get their food. Apparently bear cubs are a bit too fast for greedy coyotes.
Anyway, to end it on a climate thought, I am saddened but not surprised by the view expressed by the ranger. Climate change should be an independent scientific topic, but in America, for the most part your viewpoint is determined by your political ideology, not the underlying scientific data. Ugh.
Justin Rowlatt and Esme Stallard
Reporting in Belém
Image source,PA Media
The Prince of Wales passionately called on leaders to tap into what he called “the power of urgent optimism”.
Starmer, following Prince William, took a more sombre tone declaring that “consensus is gone” on climate. But he did say the UK remained “all in” on the issue.
Yet, when it came to one of the signature policies of this conference - a $125bn fund to help countries keep their tropical forests standing - Starmer said sorry, but with the UK facing a cost-of-living crisis, he wouldn’t be adding a penny to the pot.
This will likely disappoint Prince William who has called the fund “the most ambitious forest protection fund in history" and shortlisted it for his £1m Earthshot prize this year.
Ending his speech, Starmer did acknowledge the importance of the Amazon rainforest in “helping to regulate the climate for every person on earth and it reminds us that this is a truly collective endeavour”.
But the phrase action speaks louder than words springs to mind.
“But the phrase action speaks louder than words springs to mind.” Exactly. Starmer looks like an an empty shell. There seems to be no determination and no belief at all inside this guy.
(That seems to be an illness befalling many politicians these days btw.)
I think it is more a reflection of the problems he has domestically. A gap in the governments finances of £30bn is talked about almost daily (whether or not it really exists is another question), with speculation rife his government is going to break a major manifesto commitment to not raise income taxes.
There is actually a doc just released on Netflix about this evolution. It’s called the White House Effect. Regan had been quite a strong advocate of addressing climate change and so Bush initially was as well. The film title refers to a line he gave in a speech when campaigning referencing how committed the US government was and would be in addressing this
Those who think we are powerless to do anything about the greenhouse effect forget about the White House effect
The film tracks the bipartisan acceptance of the issue in the early 80s, the Bush white house initially starting off as a very environmentally friendly administration with a legit environmentalist appointed to head the EPA, only to ultimately get rolled by his own chief of staff (Sununu) in turning the administration and ultimately the party into the oil owned climate change denier party they became.
i wonder what world we woud live in if the west pivotted to renewables way back when?
less plastic shit maybe?..
would we all be living like peasants in fuedal England, unable to travel or even afford a loaf of bread, or would industry have produced even more amazing inventions for human and global benefit
i do wonder if the whole western Psyche would be different though, where instead of shit slandering everything anyone opposes you on, there would be a more positive debate? less narcissim, more colaboration based on a ‘history’ of being able to work together for the greater good…
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Image source,PA Media