It’s obvious that a second Trump administration will be worse in almost every conceivable way from what a Harris administration might have been.

But let's not fool ourselves into believing that a Harris victory would have been *good* for our climate and environment. We've been going in the wrong direction for at least 20 years under Presidents from both parties — and there's no reason to think that Kamala Harris would have charted a different course.

SEE ➡️ https://archive.ph/VnlWF

When it comes to our climate and environment, we can't blame either the Democrats or the Republicans. We have to blame both. We have to blame capitalism.

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#Politics #History #Economics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

In the six years between 2016 and 2021, according to data published in the most recent Circularity Gap Report, the global economy consumed 582 billion tonnes of materials — nearly as much as the 740 billion consumed in the *entire* 20th century.

REPORT ➡️ https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024

That’s very bad! But I wonder, do you think the world has been doing better since 2021? 🤔

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that global consumption has NOT declined during the past three years. In fact, the level almost certainly has increased. But let’s just say it has remained steady.

If that’s true, it means another three years of the world annually consuming ~97 billion tonnes of materials. So the total over the past nine years is now at least 873 billion tonnes — or about 18% MORE than all the materials consumed in the entire 20th century!

Driven by capitalism’s incessant demand for profits at any cost, we are consuming ourselves to death. But who cares about that? As long as billionaires keep getting richer, that’s all that matters, right?

Business As Usual must go on.

#History #Economics #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

The United Nations — founded by and controlled by the world’s most powerful capitalist countries — will NOT save us from climate and environmental collapse.

All we’ll ever get from them and our so-called leaders is a lot more “blah, blah, blah.” Words, not actions.

What our biosphere will get is more chemicals poisoning the land and sea, more plastic waste, more cars, more roads, more forests chopped down, and more droughts...
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The Amazon Basin is responsible for around 15% of all fresh water discharged into the oceans and 13% of the planet’s biodiversity. But the rivers in the world’s largest tropical rainforest are drying up. Their waters have dropped to record lows this year.

This is all happening, scientists warn, at a point when the biome has lost 18% of its forest cover, reducing its capacity to absorb and store carbon. The Amazon is now approaching the point of no return, while global temperatures are set to break the annual heat record for the second consecutive year.
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FULL STORY -- https://sumauma.com/en/infografico-o-terrivel-ressecamento-da-amazonia/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

What do you think happens when a UN climate conference is hosted by a petrostate — a country like Azerbaijan whose economy relies heavily on oil and gas?

Turning over a new leaf? Acknowledging it’s time for capitalism to end? Mea culpa?

Ha-ha, no.
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A senior official at the COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan appears to have used his role to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.

A secret recording shows the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor.

"We have a lot of gas fields that are to be developed," says Soltanov.

As well as being chief executive of COP29, Soltanov is also the deputy energy minister of Azerbaijan and is on the board of Socar, Azerbaijan's state energy firm.
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FULL STORY -- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmzvdn9e18o
SEE ALSO -- https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-gas/cop-is-for-oil-deals/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #COP29

Below is an excerpt from an absurdly hopeful article about plans for developing “green concrete” to keep up with the AI-driven data center building boom.
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The United States is home to more than 5,000 data centers today, and the Department of Commerce forecasts that number to grow by around 450 a year through 2030.

Concrete is a major ingredient in data center construction — and is also a major contributor to climate change, accounting for around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Data centers use so much concrete that the AI building boom is wrecking tech giants’ commitments to eliminate their carbon emissions.

Last year, Microsoft’s carbon emissions jumped by over 30%, primarily due to the materials in its new data centers. Google’s greenhouse emissions are up by nearly 50% over the past five years. As data centers proliferate worldwide, Morgan Stanley projects that data centers will release about 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 each year by 2030 — or about 40% of what the United States currently emits from all sources.
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In a masterpiece of greenwashing, the article tries to put a happy face on everything, with section headings like these:

😃 “1,000 Companies Working on Green Concrete”

😃 “Better Cement Through Chemistry”

😃 “Software Takes on the Hard Problem of Concrete”

😃 “Cement Plants That Capture Carbon”

😃 “A Sustainable Foundation for the Information Age”

And somehow, oblivious to the crazy irony, this article actually touts AI itself as part of the solution!! 🤦‍♂️

➡️ https://spectrum.ieee.org/green-concrete

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Greenwashing

They are the worst, scariest monsters you can possibly imagine. And they’re real.

#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #JustStopOil