Heat domes, wildfires and drought: Where’s outrage? We have the Trump administration seemingly trying to roll back or reverse every environmental initiative of the past 55 years. Yet nobody seems to care.

11 comments

1. As I write this, the temperature is climbing past 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the mid-Atlantic states, and 170 million Americans are under warnings about a dangerous combination of intense heat and humidity. Is this latest weather extreme linked to global warming? Of course it is, as has been the case with record-setting floods, extreme hurricanes, droughts and wildfires that go back decades and afflict every corner of the globe. Amid these extremes, we have the Trump administration seemingly trying to roll back or reverse every environmental initiative of the past 55 years. Yet nobody seems to care.

   In the early 1990s, I gave a lot of talks about how environmental awareness had become an American value. The early 1970s saw the passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within 20 years, Time magazine was making planet Earth its “Man of the Year,” and the first Earth Summit met. But now I think I spoke too soon.

2. This is a global trend, here in Europe shit only gets worse too. Full deluges, droughts and heatwaves completely out of seasons. In Spain we have been having over 40C for more than one month in some places now. Yesterday, we had 45C. Yet you can barely see trees in the streets.

   it’s disheartening how like people actually care and move to try to improve the situation.

3. Because they’re distracting us with other things. ICE, Iran, culture wars etc. Plus climate change creeps in slow so it just kind of gas lights itself into a “normal” things so people don’t notice it.

4. maybe think about not voting republican by attrition. abstaining, only voting for president, and vote-wasting on novelty candidates have lethal consequences. every election, every office, vote not-republucan. forever.

5. I think in America, people have decided that if we are awful enough to vote for Trump, that humans becoming extinct might be the nicest thing we could do for the planet. The sooner, the better.

6. I’m done waiting for people to care.  We need to make fossil fuels unprofitable and dangerous for CEOs.

7. I learned the other day of why they call it Generation Last. There is nothing in reserve anymore across the whole human and ecosystem enterprise for any future. I find the convergence of various unrelated events made visible big time, all at once, quite remarkable.

8. 219 million- that’s how much money was poured into politics by the fossil fuel companies for just the 2024 election- most to, but not all to Republicans. That is just in the US and doesn’t include other persuasive tactics and infiltration into universities and communities. No matter what happens or how many die from climate change, the fossil fuel companies control the narrative. There are many who are outraged and appalled, but as others have stated, there is a daily constant barrage of destructive attacks on individual freedoms, the here and now is the focal point… even though the climate perils are becoming increasingly more dangerous and relevant.

9. I believe the tRump policy is called “don’t look up”

10. Genuine question – what the fuck can we do?

    I call my rep and sign petitions – but politicians and representatives have basically disappeared or completely ignore their constituency, democrats too, and they have been completely inept.

    I donate to climate orgs and good progressive candidates, but that does fuckall to stop this urgent pillaging and reversal.

    I volunteer locally, but again, the scope of impact is just not where it needs to be in order to stop the crazy runaway train that is this administration and the irreparable harm it’s doing in our last closing window to affect climate change.

    Getting arrested or fucking disappeared at a protest is becoming more likely every day, and as a parent of a young kid that’s just a non starter.

    This a genuine question – what does this leave us to do? I am truly terrified, motivated, and informed – even have some disposable income – but I feel like all I’ve got is waiting for the next election, or throwing my life away in some misguided violent resistance (which ain’t that appealing when people depend on you).

11. Because the people who CAN do anything about this don’t believe or don’t care.

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