So long as we burn fossil fuels, far, far worse is on the way; and I take zero satisfaction in knowing that this will be proven right, too, with a certainty as non-negotiable and merciless as the physics behind fossil-fueled global heating.
Biden’s refusal to declare a climate emergency and his eagerness to push new pipelines and new drilling – at an even faster pace than Trump – goes against science, goes against common sense, goes against life on Earth.
Carbon dioxide resides in the atmosphere for a very long time, making the excess heat and other climate impacts basically irreversible on human-relevant timescales.
Declaring a climate emergency would unleash additional powers such as banning oil exports and further accelerating renewable energy buildout on a scale not seen since the mobilization for the second world war.
It would send an unmistakable signal to investors still living in the past, to universities that have been shamefully slow to divest, to media outlets that have failed to connect the dots, to all the dangerously lagging institutions of our society.
Some have already been spending money building climate/fallout shelters in New Zealand, then stuffing them with provisions and hiring personnel to guard them. When the moment comes, it's just a quick private jet trip, and the world can burn.
Others, like world leaders (Putin, Erdogan, etc), have expanded their palaces and residences with underground shelters for a similar purpose. They're already ready for the world to burn.
That's easy: keep the guards' families inside the bunker. Now who's gonna switch sides? (see how it went with the Wagnerites: threaten families, stop a coup).
Also, New Zealand is not a coincidence, it's far away from most of the mobs. With a local population of barely over 5 million, I bet they could hire some, kill some, help some a bit, and the rest would fall in line.
The thing I don't get about building bunkers in NZ it's...ummm... geologically active.
If you look at the South Island, the mountain range going from one end to the other is a big arse fault line just waiting for the next big shift. Following that up into the North Island from Wellington to Whakatane and Whakaari/White Island (you know the one that killed 22 people back in 2019) there's the active volcanoes in the middle and the big lake that is a still active volcanic caldera.