These are some miserable, miserable people, who mostly refuse to make their own lives carbon neutral
A holly, jolly Christmas – while the planet burns
Christmas is a complicated time of year. There’s the Yuletide carol and gay apparel, the peace on earth and goodwill toward man. There are wonderful acts of charity and more acts of shopping. There’s food, music, and for some, religion. And then there’s the end-of-year, off-the-treadmill downtime for reflection. And the fact that the planet is going to hell in a handbag.
Humans are good at not letting reality get in the way of a good time, and Christmas provides a great opportunity to hone those skills. I recall one Christmas Eve, sitting in my Sunday best at my grandmother’s dining-room table, trying to stay afloat in the grownup conversation and pass the gravy boat without spilling, while ignoring the inebriated family member grazing on the carpet at our feet.
A complicated time of year indeed, but with age and children of my own, I’m less concerned about drunk relations under the table than what’s going on outside the window. News on the planetary front is nothing short of dire. Between climate change, the most severe spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs and global pollution on an unprecedented scale, Earth has little cause for celebration. The belfries of the land will have to work very hard this season to be heard above the alarm bells of environmental science. (snip)
It’s tempting to put a little asterisk next to the “Seasons Greetings†on this year’s Christmas cards and footnote a snappy quote from one of the world’s leading scientists. Such as: “The next few years are probably the most important in our history†(Debra Roberts, co-chair of working group behind the IPCC report). Or, “We know that we’re moving in the wrong direction†(Johan Rockstrom, incoming director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who foresees a three- to four-degree temperature rise, based on current plans). Or, “We are sleepwalking towards a cliff†(Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at the World Wildlife Fund, whose most recent Living Planet Report records a 60-per-cent decrease in animal populations since 1970).
It must take a lot of work to be as miserable as a Warmist, and they always want to drag everyone else with them into their dark world. Just smile at them, wish them Happy Holidays (mentioning Christmas will drive them off the deep end, and you don’t want to be around for that, because they’ll follow you), and be on your way.
