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I'd just like to clarify this by defining the problem. I like to highlight the ecological crisis as it is misleading to purely talk about the climate crisis. However, it also false to talk about one or the other as the climate crisis is a component of the ecological crisis. https://twitter.com/HollyWildChild/status/1288840656786468865
1) Even if none of the other components of the ecological crisis existed, and it was just the climate crisis, the climate crisis would still be an existential threat to our civilization, and to much of the Earth's biodiversity.
2) Even if the climate crisis did not exist, the biodiversity crisis alone (and this is but one component of the ecological crisis) would still be an existential threat to our civilization. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report
3) Many causes of the biodiversity crisis and the ecological crisis in general aren't directly driven by the climate crisis, although in reality they have the same drivers as the climate crisis i.e. over-exploiting natural systems for profit without regard for the consequences.
4) The impacts of the climate crisis alone would have massive impacts on biodiversity and could destroy over half of all life on Earth if there are not big reductions in carbon emissions. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0081648
5) In other words, any attempt to separate these two issues if false and artificial, because they are both different sides of the same coin and are inextricably linked.
6) Ultimately, ecology is the interaction of everything. There really isn't anything outside ecology, because ecology is the interaction of everything. There is no the economy and ecology, because the human economy is totally reliant on natural ecosystems and all natural systems.
7) Scientific ecology tends to be artificially delineated so it only looks at the interactions of non-humans species. This is partly because it is already a vastly complex subject, and partly because of a cultural tradition of seeing humans apart from the rest of nature.
8) However, this is a completely arbitrary and false distinction and division. If one component effects other components, and therefore has a relationship with all those components, that relationship is ecological and part of the ecological whole.
9) The reason for this tweet thread is to define the problem so it can be understood. It is also to highlight how language can be used to create false divisions i.e. to create the illusion that things are separate from each other, when they are not.
10) A huge problem drawn from our cultural traditions is to think about a problem and to discuss this problem, without ever having defined that problem, so people end up talking at cross purposes.
11) As I illustrate here, any attempt to talk about the climate crisis as a separate issue from the ecological crisis, or ecology in general, is wholly false, specious and spurious.
12) Historically, the climate crisis was never treated as a separate issue to the ecological sustainability crisis. The 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the biggest summit of it's type ever, attended by over 100 heads government, treated them as one whole problem. https://www.britannica.com/event/United-Nations-Conference-on-Environment-and-Development
13) It's now become clear with hindsight, that politicians deceitfully separated the climate crisis from the general ecological crisis because they mistakenly thought they could avert the climate crisis, but not the general sustainability crisis without changing the whole system.
14) What I mean by the above, is that without ever overtly stating it, that political leaders had an underlying commitment never to change the economic growth model. That they new without doing this that they could never address the ecological crisis.
15) However, our political leadership mistakenly thought that they could address the causes of the climate crisis with techno-fixes i.e. with non-carbon emitting power sources, and then to carry on with business as usual.
16) This mistaken belief that the climate crisis could be fixed by replacing one power source with another, what I call "magic battery thinking", was based on wishful thinking, not a real grasp of the overall problem.
17) By "magic battery thinking" I mean simply seeing the problem in terms of power sources and replacing one power source with another, like swapping old single use batteries, to re-chargeable batteries in an appliance.
18) Hindsight proves that the whole dream of the climate crisis being fixed purely with technology, was a pipe dream. We have 30 years of empirical evidence to illustrate the fallacy of this thinking. It's entirely possible to achieve, but only with deeper system change.
19) Overall, the real problem is a completely failure to see the "big picture" in a joined up way. To see how these components interact in a realistic way. Yes it is complex, but that is not why we as a culture have failed to see the "big picture".
20) As @GretaThunberg has brilliantly illustrated it is quite easy to see the big picture if you adhere to the science describing the components, and if you do not engage in fantasy thinking like "green growth".
21) The failure to see the "big picture" is because when the big picture is acknowledged it is plain and self-evident that the whole system has to change. But the power, wealth and status of the most powerful people in our societies, rely on the system remaining as it is.
22) This whole crisis has been facilitated by simply turning a blind eye to the consequences. A tiny group of people have unimaginable wealth and power. They don't want that to change, and effectively they control everything. That is the primary obstacle to change.
23) You can only effectively solve a problem if you properly understand what the problem is. If you turn a blind eye to parts of the problem, because they are inconvenient to your own vested interest, you will not be able to effectively solve the problem.
24) This is not about demonising the rich and powerful. It is about saying to them, that for the sake of humanity, and all life on Earth, you must be willing to relinquish your lifestyle. That you must stop impeding progress because of this.
