With climate change, the cause and effect are 50 years apart. Even if we cut all greenhouse gas emissions today, the climate will become more extreme for another 50 years because of what we’ve done for the past 50 years.
One problem with democracy is that, by the time the public recognizes a threat, it’s sometimes too late to defend against it. Every year that we continue to use fossil fuels will make life more hellish 50 years later.
Every year that we postpone drastic cuts, will add $500 billion to the cost of mitigation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger says that if the other states were as efficient as California, we could close 75 percent of the coal-burning power plants tomorrow (http://ti.me/VR7kKu). And yet, there are so many things Californians could do to further reduce emissions. They could turn off excess lighting, use clothes lines, and put solar collectors on large buildings.
