My point was simply that people are only powerless against climate change when they want to be powerless. There's always something to do, including through your vote. — Olivier5

Yes. It's important to state this. To prevent total apathy and encourage people still to care and to take care of self and others in the face of a growing crisis. It's a matter of adapting and quickly...
Difficult but not impossible for creatures of habit. How soon can new habits be formed ?

has anyone asked them ? — Amity

Young adult fiction says a lot. As I explained, a lot of nowadays scifi has a dystopian angle, which I guess helps kids and young adults prepare psychologically. In the US, the 100 is a good example. In Italy, there was Anna; in France, L'Effondrement.

"Do as I say and not as I do"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U2UoR-oB1M

(Adding in the link)

"Do as I say and not as I do"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U2UoR-oB1M

"Do as I say and not as I do"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U2UoR-oB1M — RussellA

Neil Oliver telling it like it is :fire: :100:
Excoriating the presidents, princes and politicians.
Encouraging the 'hollow bags of wind' to lead by example: "Walk the walk".
Biden and his cavalcade of cars...private jets for those coming to mumble some more...

Oliver suggests there should be vital, virtual meetings every day over the internet.
Now that would make sense, no ?

Not sure how many fiction writers will be attending Cop26 but interesting to consider the role of sci-fi.

The future is arriving sooner than most of us expected, and speculative fiction needs to do far more to help us prepare. The warning signs of catastrophic climate change are getting harder to ignore, and how we deal with this crisis will shape the future of humanity. It’s time for SF authors, and fiction authors generally, to factor climate change into our visions of life in 2019, and the years beyond...

Science fiction, according to Jones, provides an important forum for “humanizing science and even politics/policy.” Pop culture and the popular imagination tend to depict scientists as evil or horribly misguided, and civil servants as “contemptible, petty, power-hungry bureaucrats.” But SF can show science in a more positive light, and even show how government is capable of implementing policies that “will get us out of the mess we’re currently in,” says Jones.

“With Blackfish City, I wanted to paint a realistically terrifying picture about how the world will change in the next hundred years, according to scientists,” says Miller—a picture which includes the evacuation of coastal cities, wars over resources, famines, plague, and infrastructure collapse. “But I also wanted to have hope, and imagine the magnificent stuff we’ll continue to create. The technology we’ll develop. The solutions we’ll find. The music we’ll make.”

“The Road/Walking Dead-style abject hopelessness is not entertaining or stimulating to me,” adds Miller. “Humans are the fucking worst, yes, but they’re also the fucking best.” — Tor.com: Climate change and Sci-fi authors

When I was a teenager I read a lot of scifi, including some who included sea level changes. Like Paris or New York under water.


In this simulation, Paris is mostly under water if sea level rises 50 metres, the level predicted to happen in 500 years or so, in the worst case scenario.


Cover art for: Valérian - La Cité des Eaux Mouvantes, by Jean-Claude Mézières, 1970

Yes to optimism but no to denial. This sub-genre of scifi (called Climate Fiction) cannot be all gloom and doom of course, and mankind may indeed still thrive. But the challenge cannot be ignored anymore, nor wished away via some future technology.

I'm 75; I don't have a lot of water and climate worries, provided I don't live too much longer. I wonder what plans informed adolescents and young adults are making in light of the ongoing crises which they will have to live with. — Bitter Crank

I'm ten years older, so much of what happens will be beyond my awareness. Here in Colorado there is a looming water issue that extends to the Pacific. Over sixty million people rely on the Colorado River.

:up:

Vote green. — unenlightened

I meant to reply to this and other aspects of your post, including the video which I haven't yet watched.
Voting Green would seem a sensible thing to do but some see it as a wasted vote, given our political electerol system.
However, it has to be said the Greens have made a significant impact; people are paying attention and taking them seriously. Thanks to Caroline Lucas speaking out loud and clear, here:

Caroline Lucas on climate, consumerism and Cop26: ‘Boris Johnson is an absolute disaster’
by Emine Saner.

If Caroline Lucas has always seemed an optimistic sort of politician, that outlook is being pushed to breaking point. Sitting through the budget last week was, says Lucas, “an unbelievable experience. It was like being in some weird parallel universe where there wasn’t a climate emergency, and we weren’t about to host the world’s nations at this big climate summit.”

It should have been a moment when the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, “was turbocharging the funding for the net zero programme”, says the Green party MP, ahead of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, which opened on Sunday. “It should have been the point where he reversed that unforgivable cut in aid, where we demonstrated some strong climate policies. Instead, the headlines were about cutting the cost of short-haul flights.” — Guardian: Cop26 - Caroline Lucas Interview

About Cop26, Lucas admits that it’s hard, looking at the evidence, to feel optimistic.
And yet...she remains hopeful...

... “The public pressure and movements are gathering like never before. We know the public want leadership on this – they want the government to go further, they are absolutely up for bolder and more ambitious action. I take some hope from that, but on the evidence right now, I think it’s not too late, but it’s going to be tough.”

--------

I hadn't expected this thread to take a scifi turn...but yeah, of course - it is imagination based on reality; our lives, fears and hopes. The stories past, present and future.

When I was a teenager I read a lot of scifi, including some who included sea level changes. Like Paris or New York under water...
Cover art for: Valérian - La Cité des Eaux Mouvantes, by Jean-Claude Mézières, 1970 — Olivier5

The cover is too beautiful.
I didn't read scifi until way past average age of adulthood. I just didn't see its relevance.
Shows how wrong a person can be...

Yes to optimism but no to denial. This sub-genre of scifi (called Climate Fiction) cannot be all gloom and doom of course, and mankind may indeed still thrive. But the challenge cannot be ignored anymore, nor wished away via some future technology. — Olivier5

Indeed.
The interview picks out one of Lucas' favourite films, 'The Age of Stupid'.
Have you seen it ?

Her biggest fear is, “That we don’t act fast enough. That we exceed 1.5 degrees, that we get towards two degrees of warming and more of the extreme events that scientists have been warning are linked to the climate emergency really accelerate.” One of her favourite films is Franny Armstrong’s docudrama The Age of Stupid, set in 2055 – with its cities under floods or on fire, it looks more familiar this year than it did when it came out in 2009 – and she says a line from it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of her neck: “‘Why is it, knowing what we knew then, we didn’t act when there was still time?’ And frankly that is the question I go to bed thinking about, and wake up thinking about.”

Voting Green would seem a sensible thing to do but some see it as a wasted vote, given our political electerol system. — Amity

Those people might consider UKIP. Didn't win many elections, but got their policy through. Losing votes influence winning politicians and other voters; they are never wasted.

Re UKIP - got their policy through — unenlightened

Didn't they just. Major job done and dusted.
>>> Brexit :rage:

What lessons can be learned, then, from those wishing successful outcomes to Cop26 ?
How to engage the masses ?
Fear of incoming...floods ?

This is more about changing our lifestyles and habits of consumption. We are fighting ourselves, our impulses, what we think we need.

Expect to become poorer and learn to live simple and consume little. — unenlightened

Yes. I think many are already poorer and consuming less.
However, for so long, shopping was ( still is ) seen as 'retail therapy'. Buy this and you'll feel better.
Be better. More beautiful. Sexy and Superior.
Buy the best toys and labels for Christmas. Keep everyone happy by spending money.
Even if you didn't have it. Credit cards made everything easy - just one swipe.

Self-esteem wrapped up in a red, satin bow.
Humans, eh ? :roll:

>>> Brexit :rage:

What lessons can be learned, then, from those wishing successful outcomes to Cop26 ? — Amity

Keep it simple; keep it nostalgic; keep it racist; repeat hypnotically. Something like this:

"Bring back our White Christmases!" :scream:

Keep it simple; keep it nostalgic; keep it racist; repeat hypnotically. Something like this:

"Bring back our White Christmases!" :scream: — unenlightened

:lol:
OMG, that was the best laugh I've had in forever. Really needed that :100: :sparkle:

Franny Armstrong’s docudrama The Age of Stupid, set in 2055 – with its cities under floods or on fire, it looks more familiar this year than it did when it came out in 2009 – and she (Lucas) says a line from it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of her neck: “‘Why is it, knowing what we knew then, we didn’t act when there was still time?’ And frankly that is the question I go to bed thinking about, and wake up thinking about.”

It seems to me that the problem now is politicians lagging behind the views of the informed public. This is worst in totalitarian states where they can safely ignore the public - ie China, Russia. The dictators have their own continued power uppermost in mind, not enacting economic sacrifices to safeguard the planet's future. Trump was the most apposite example. Most democracies are accepting the inevitable
now though as even the most boneheaded concede the extreme weather events are warnings of worse to come. I forecast India will quickly come on board. So we - the consumers - have to start boycotting Chinese and Russian goods - hit them the only way they understand. I hope those who can advise on what products we can most effectively stop buying will soon do so..

Sooo... Based on headlines and a few articles read, so far everything has gone exactly as expected.

By the time we get to 2030, we might actually see politicians say "we've totally destroyed the planet, we cannot believe we have failed so miserably, but we have to do something for our children!."

And then we can have a good laugh. And then burn or something.

It's official, COP26, despite all the hype, was a complete washout! Really, who were we kidding?!

Here is the reasoning that will destroy us.

There's no point in me reducing my carbon footprint when The Bogeyman is increasing his
The Bogeyman is increasing his carbon footprint.
Therefore there is no point in me reducing my carbon footprint.

It's a familiar story; virtue is expensive and painful. So let's all be Bogeymen.

But in this case there is another argument.

The Bogeyman will kill us all if he doesn't stop being a Bogeyman.
Therefore I am going to stop being the Bogeyman.
Would you like to stop too?

Yeah, that's the gist of the logic. And the solution is really that straightforward. Stupid competition and bragging rights about "growth" and the like will cost us dearly.

But if countries do not sign legally binding treaties, what can be done? Give these types of speeches and empty promises.

Have to keep pressuring these people to change policy, or we're done.

Have to keep pressuring these people to change policy, or we're done. — Manuel

The species will adapt to the change. There's no reason now to think we can't.

We haven't faced something this big ever, involving the entire world population and the vanishing of countries and cities. We may adapt, but maybe billions will die.

It's going to get very ugly. I hope you're right.

This is about representative of the state of things.

We haven't faced something this big ever, involving the entire world population — Manuel

We've faced worse. Look up Younger Dryas.

We may adapt, but maybe billions will die. — Manuel

Not all at once. We'll go into a warmer climate for a few thousand years and the oceans will absorb the CO2. We'll be back something close to baseline in 10,000 years.

Yeah, that's not with billions of people living in cities who don't know how to survive in the wilderness.

We'll be back something close to baseline in 10,000 years. — frank

If we are still here, I guess. It took about 250 years to get to this point, most of the harm being done in the last few decades, so hopefully we'd have learned not to repeat the same mistakes.

It's still quite hard to absorb the idea that we are willing to destroy most sentient life on Earth, many if not most of our fellow citizens for reasons of power and profit, essentially.

The species will adapt to the change. — frank

Yeah, so no worries. Go back to sleep. We’ll probably survive a nuclear war, too.

It's still quite hard to absorb the idea that we are willing to destroy most sentient life on Earth, many if not most of our fellow citizens for reasons of power and profit, essentially. — Manuel

Nihilistic greed wins in the end, perhaps. But don’t worry — because maybe we all survive in 10 thousand years or something.

virtue is expensive and painful. — unenlightened

:up: Why do you think that is?

Shouldn't it have been the other way round? We make such a big fuss about morality - ethics of this, ethics of that - that what should've happened is all other areas of human interest and activity should've aligned themselves with it by now, it's been nearly 2.5k years and counting. Virtue should be cheap and joyful. Yet it is not! :chin:

It's still quite hard to absorb the idea that we are willing to destroy most sentient life on Earth, many if not most of our fellow citizens for reasons of power and profit, essentially. — Manuel

Our fellow citizens will already be dead when the spike comes. It's not a high speed event.

We'll be back something close to baseline in 10,000 years. — frank

I'd like some citations on that if you have them. Because the story I heard is that there's no going back. Rather a new equilibrium will be established (assuming no substantial reduction in global emissions) 5 - 8 degrees warmer; no ice on Antarctica or Greenland and that means a sea level rise of about 70 metres.

virtue is expensive and painful.
— unenlightened

Why do you think that is? — TheMadFool

If virtue was fun and profitable, every arsehole would be virtuous.

It's likely that humanity will take more active measures against climate change in terms of removing CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.

Such as dumping iron into oceans or planting more trees and so on.

virtue is expensive and painful.
— unenlightened

Why do you think that is?
— TheMadFool

If virtue was fun and profitable, every arsehole would be virtuous — unenlightened

:rofl: And that's why, ladies and gentlemen, "virtue is expensive and painful."