Climate Change Optimism And Pessimism

It is refreshing to find one source that summarizes the optimism and pessimism associated with any topic. The YouTube channel, “Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell“, released such a video about climate change.

Some scattered snippets:

• “Between 2000 and 2010, greenhouse gas emissions had grown by 24%, three times as much as the increase in the previous decade.”
• “Since 2015 three-quarters of planned coal plants have been canceled and 44 countries have committed to stop building them.”
• “Amazingly battery prices have decreased by 97% in the past 30 years,….”
• “…the USA – decreased emissions by 4% while growing their GDP by 26%!”
• “As of 2022, based on current global policies, we will end up in a 3 degrees world.”

So, things are bad, but not as bad as they could be. Much of what comes next begins with a lot of deferred actions, but actions that we can take. Much of what happens next is up to us.