Climate change, again, and other things: 'We're doomed': Mayer Hillman on the climate reality no one else will dare mention.
'We're doomed': Mayer Hillman on the climate reality no one else will dare mention
On traffic and how we have handed over public space to cars:
In 1971, 80% of British seven- and eight-year-old children went to school on their own; today it’s virtually unthinkable that a seven-year-old would walk to school without an adult. As Hillman has pointed out, we’ve removed children from danger rather than removing danger from children – and filled roads with polluting cars on school runs. He calculated that escorting children took 900m adult hours in 1990, costing the economy £20bn each year. It will be even more expensive today.
Remember The Modern Moloch on 99% Invisible?
Sacrifices to the Modern Moloch (1923)
Sacrifices to the Modern Moloch (1923)
On the futility of individual action, and the futility of national action. Only the collapse will bring about the change in behaviour required.
Although Hillman has not flown for more than 20 years as part of a personal commitment to reducing carbon emissions, he is now scornful of individual action which he describes as “as good as futile”. By the same logic, says Hillman, national action is also irrelevant “because Britain’s contribution is minute. Even if the government were to go to zero carbon it would make almost no difference.”
Instead, says Hillman, the world’s population must globally move to zero emissions across agriculture, air travel, shipping, heating homes – every aspect of our economy – and reduce our human population too. Can it be done without a collapse of civilisation? “I don’t think so,” says Hillman. “Can you see everyone in a democracy volunteering to give up flying? Can you see the majority of the population becoming vegan? Can you see the majority agreeing to restrict the size of their families?”
And he connects it with migration, of course. So many strings, being tied together.
“And who is ‘we’?” asks Hillman with a typically impish smile. “Wealthy people will be better able to adapt but the world’s population will head to regions of the planet such as northern Europe which will be temporarily spared the extreme effects of climate change. How are these regions going to respond? We see it now. Migrants will be prevented from arriving. We will let them drown.”
It’s articles like these that confirm my intention to donate a bit to The Guardian every year.
Also good: Is this how you feel? The Scientists. Interesting!
Is this how you feel? The Scientists
#Climate
Solderpunk’s comment on the futility of individual action
Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals
However, here was the problem: The study did not assess all sources of global emissions worldwide (which includes agriculture, transportation, buildings’ heating and cooling systems) but rather only analyzed the output of fossil-fuel producers, specifically. – Snopes
She's very critical of Mayor Hillman and wrote more on her blog post, Fake good news about our real bad habits.
