Stand against fossil fuel propaganda!

The five stages of the disinformation factories and their echo chambers

The propaganda of the global fossil fuel lobby is professional, massive and has unlimited funds. The purpose is to sow doubt and gridlock to extend the oil age. Fossil energy is a sunset industry, but a few more years could bring astronomical gains to a few.

Stage 1: Deny that the problem exists

When people are faced with a serious problem, the immediate reaction is to deny that the problem even exists. The “climate deniers” maintained for many years that “there is no global warming.”
-Rational people don’t believe this anymore. Human-induced global warming is underway, and visible to everyone.

Global average temperature is rising. It’s not due to the sun

Stage 2: Deny that we are the cause

When people realize that the problem actually exists, they go to the next stage, denying that we are responsible. «… We deny that most current climate change is man-made and that it is a threat to future generations that must be addressed by the global community.” “If there is any warming, it is just part of a natural cycle.”
– Rational people don’t believe this anymore. Natural fluctuations cannot explain today’s rapid warming.

Phase 2b: No scientific consensus

Give the impression that there are two equal groups of climate scientists who disagree. Do really 97% of all climate scientists agree that global heating is caused by humans? Can’t possibly be right! (Sure is. Now it’s over 99%)

Stage 3: Deny that there is a problem

Once most people have made it through the first two stages and realized that global warming is happening and man-made, the “climate deniers” proceed to stage 3, denying that there is a problem. “It’s just nice that it’s getting a little warmer!”
– Rational people don’t believe this anymore. Many more and more intense fires, droughts, floods, and extreme weather events worldwide are impossible to explain away.

Stage 4: Deny that we can solve it

Solving the problem is too expensive and will hurt the poor. Renewable energy such as wind power is too expensive and difficult or next to impossible. It can never replace the 80% of energy we get from fossil fuels now. Moreover, we do not have batteries for storing energy, they cannot be recycled, and they require all sorts of rare minerals from child labor in Congo.

We can no longer use our atmosphere as a garbage dump

In reality, when fossil fuel energy is used, between 30 and 50% of the energy is wasted through excess heat. Just by electrifying, the energy need is much reduced. Wind power is now far cheaper than coal, even without considering the additional climate damage costs from coal burning. Solar energy is cheaper than diesel too, even without accounting for negative externalities.

In addition, the poorest countries are the most vulnerable to climate change.

Recycling is possible if the authorities mandate it. The EU is well underway with mandates for circular economy and optimal recycling. If you manage 50% recycling today, you can do 80% tomorrow with political will. New recyclable and compact battery technologies are on the way. Development is very rapid.

Stage 5: It’s too late. The solution is apathy.

It’s too late to solve the problem, so we shouldn’t bother trying.

Unfortunately, this stage can be self-fulfilling. If we wait too long, we could end up with catastrophic climate change, with a billion climate refugees, deadly and prolonged heat waves, dying seas, out-of-control wildfires, storms, droughts and floods on an unprecedented scale. Maybe it is too late. Maybe summer 2023 will be the last nice summer? Maybe!

*Image Credit: WeatherProf on Twitter*
The extreme is the new normal

The global fossil fuel lobby; headed by Putin, Trump, Bush, the Saudi Royal Family, Aramco, the Murdoch media (Fox and more), the Koch corporations, the Heartland Institute, Gazprom, ExxonMobil and the Iranian ayatollahs apparently thinks it’s okay to sacrifice a few billion human lives as long as they can continue to rake in billions of oil dollars.

The good news is that we probably still have time to avoid a completely catastrophic outcome. We can’t accept that it’s too late. We need to get out of apathy and onto action. We know what needs to be done: stop coal, end new oil exploration, remaining fossil fuels to the transformation, all tax packages and subsidies from oil over to renewables, global carbon tax, replant forests, reduce material consumption, vote green, invest in infrastructure, and move to Circular economy!

We know we’re in a hurry. We know it’s going to cost. We know we have to adapt. Now. We need to become less fixated on the ideal solution. A little today, a little more tomorrow is better than nothing. We need to find compromises and combinations of solutions that reduce emissions efficiently and quickly. The more emission reductions we achieve, the more actions we take to protect our ecosystems, the less the consequences of global warming.

Sources:

The 5 stages of climate denial are on display ahead of the IPCC report | Climate crisis | The Guardian

Climate sceptic thinktank received funding from fossil fuel interests.Global Warming Policy Foundation is a fossil fuel lobbyist group

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