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| This is a coral reef. These things might be gone soon. |
Climate change doomsday getting closer
On the 8th of October the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on the impacts of 1.5°C of global warming. The catastrophic consequences include extreme weather effects like hurricanes, drought, flooding and wildfires increasing in frequency, intensity and duration. Since about the beginning of the industrial revolution in the early 1900s, temperature has already risen globally by about 1°C. The report estimates that the crucial threshold of 1.5°C will be reached by as early as 2030, or 12 years from now on. It estimates that effectively all of the coral reefs in the world would be gone as a result. With current trends 1.5°C would destroy 70-90% and 2°C would destroy over 99%.
Permanent and irreversible damage has already been done by climate change. Globally, the effects of climate change have already been felt with record breaking storms, floods and droughts. The IPCC's report suggest that drastic cuts in carbon emissions might still reverse some of the more catastrophic effects that have been predicted by scientists. This would mean reaching net zero emissions by 2040, which seems extremely unlikely with current trends. With Donald "climate change is a Chinese hoax" Trump in office and fossil fuel corporations holding considerable sway over politics, I don't see it happening.
To answer my last posts title: No, kinda
US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed after a suspiciously limited FBI investigation in to alleged sexual assault was concluded last week. FBI talked to just 9 people not even including Kavanaugh's first accuser Christine Blasey Ford or Kavanaugh himself. One comment I saw sarcastically said how this gives law enforcement everywhere an amazing shortcut. When investigating crimes, simply skip talking to the victim or the suspect and you'll be done in no time. Some have pointed out that the fight against Kavanaugh is still not over. If Democrats take over after the mid-term elections, they might pursue further investigations and possible impeachment of Kavanaugh. If not, he will sit on the bench of the Supreme Court for possibly decades, making important decisions.
Kavanaugh might even help Trump and his associates escape prosecution for any crimes they have committed. This goes in to the realm of speculation, but this might deal a massive blow to the stability of American democracy. After all, it's no secret that Trump loves dictators. If events from now on proceed as follows: Trump fires Rosenstein (Special Council Robert Mueller's boss), fires Mueller, shuts down the Russia investigation and pardons his prosecuted associates, he will go on to act with impunity from legal and political consequences. If he is brought up on impeachment charges or a matter concerning his authority ever goes to the Supreme Court, he has a man in place to make sure he gets away with anything. Scary to think that this isn't even that hard to imagine actually happening.
Conclusion
There are many more layers to each of the stories I write about here. I aim to keep stuff on this blog pretty brief and concise. This post has been more doom and gloom, but that is pretty much the trademark of the news media. If you want to stay positive, you can say that the medias focus on negative events is a sign of our universal drive to be better rather than just a reflection of our negligence to actually do so.
Thanks for reading!
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