Sunday, June 16, 2019

Climate Crisis And The 2020 US Elections

WOW. Spot on! Please read this and share. Thank you. — Molly
 
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Trump and his party must be defeated
There are so many things wrong with Donald Trump that one hardly knows where to begin. He is a racist, habitual liar, tax evader, cruel cager of infants, misogynist, narcissist, bully, violator of numerous laws, both national and international, a friend of rich oligarchs and enemy of the poor, to mention only a few of his faults. He has made the United States resemble Germany, Italy or Spain in the 1930’s, when fascism was on the rise.
However, most importantly for the future of human civilization and the biosphere, Trump has denied the reality of the climate emergency, encouraged the use of coal as well as exploration for new oil, sabotaged the Environmental Protection Agency, and withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement. Because of the climate issue alone, it is vital for the future of humanity that he and his party should be defeated in the 2020 elections.
The importance of immediate climate action
The central problem which the world faces in its attempts to avoid catastrophic climate change is a contrast of time scales. In order to save human civilization and the biosphere from the most disastrous effects of climate change we need to act immediately, But it is difficult to mobilize public opinion behind urgently needed action because the most severe disasters due to global warming belong to the long-term future.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in their October 2018 report, stated that global CO2 emissions must be reduced by 50% in just 12 years if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided.
What happened in the disastrous 2016 election?
One is reminded of the words of Yeats: “Things fall apart. The centre cannot hold. The best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity. And what rough beast, its time come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
When Senator Bernie Sanders began his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, few people believed that he could succeed. But as his campaign gained momentum, enormous crowds were attracted to his reformist speeches, and small individual donors supported his expenses. Although the crowds at Sanders’ speeches were at least four times the size of  those attending the rallies of other candidates, they were not reported in  the mass media. Sanders’ campaign was also sabotaged by the corporate- controlled Democratic National Committee. His huge popularity remains undimmed today, despite his loss in the 2016 primary. He advocates a social  system for the United States similar to these which have made the Scandinavian countries leaders in both human development and human happiness indices.
Against expectations, Donald Trump who, in the words of Michael Moore,  is a “wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full-time sociopath”, was elected in 2016. What happened? Disillusioned by the way in which the immensely popular Senator Bernie Sanders was sabotaged by the media and by the Democratic National Committee, and despising Hillary Clinton for her involvement in US wars and Wall Street banks, many progressive voters, especially young ones, stayed away from the polls. In their absence, Trump won narrowly. He lost the popular vote, but won the electoral vote. Today, the White House is a morass of dissension, erratic decisions and lies.

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