Should we help kick it over? Utah U Prof Tim Garrett figures climate catastrophe is unstoppable unless the economy collapses. UK green Keith Farnish says "Time's Up!" - we should undermine the growth machine. Plus scientists' web cast, and latest on "Climate Wars" from Gwynne Dyer.
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[Radio stations: if you need time for station ID, download the two 29 minute segments posted below]
Is global warming unstoppable now? Could we be saved by total economic collapse? If so, should we help civilization fall?
It's another cheery edition of Radio Ecoshock, with your darkness at the end of the tunnel, Alex Smith.
Last night I recorded another glimpse of the climate apocalypse, with the author of "Climate Wars" Gwynne Dyer. He outlined the short distance from here to the cliff where long-known natural feed-backs leading to runaway global warming begin, and continue on for millenia. That limit is known as two degrees. Beyond that, great forests melt into fire, liberating their carbon. Beyond that, the Arctic permafrost melts, likely doubling atmospheric greenhouse gases. Five to seven degrees Centigrade of average global temperature rise. Utter disaster.
Dyer says world governments quickly agreed to the 2 degree limit at Copenhagen, without telling the public why. No need to panic the herd.
We also tune into a climate science web cast from the Center for American Progress. Two top American IPCC scientists, trying not to say too much. You'll hear a few clips and comments from that update, hosted by Joe Romm, of the blog climateprogess.org.
But we start out with a different sort of scientist. Cloud specialist Tim Garrett stepped in a few people's faces, when he proposed a formula about carbon and the world's wealth. Simply put, unless our economy collapses, to levels you and I would hate, climate change is unstoppable. Garrett bases his jarring statements on a basic law of physics, of thermodynamics. Peak Oil people need to know about Garrett, too.
Following Garrett, we dive deeper into the culture of despair. Keith Farnish is the author of "Time's Up, an uncivilized solution to a global crisis." Are you ready to become uncivilized?
If collapse is the best solution, would you help kick the system over? Or would you just watch it fall? Farnish has been called a terrorist, and a green realist. Your brain exercise for troubling times.
At the end, we look at five problems that could mean the end of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the beginning of a new full-time climate "peace room" to help solve this developing crisis.
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