Or we could accept that very, very few people are interested in restructuring society at this point - at least until real disaster strikes - and put our efforts into trying to mitigate environmental destruction as much as possible.
How do we mitigate against climate change? Oil and coal are highly fungible comodities, gas not so much but can be. They are all in short supply and high demand. Any cutting of demand from the UK will be taken up eagerly by other countries. The days of us having any real chance at seriously mitigating climate change have past.
All we can do, is at 5 past 12, reduce our complicity in what is unfolding.
When you look at the giant populations of India, Brazil, Indonesia and China and there desire for a slightly better life, there governments are not going to be easy to persuade that climate change is a really major issue. Every slacking of comodity purchases in the west will be taken up by the south.
Until there is a global framework and action to actualy cut green house gass emissions substantialy then we are pretty much wasting our time. Hell in the UK reduction is not even on the cards. We are asked to turn of the TV standby, while expanding the M1 and building the 3rd runway.
We have locked in future increases in temperature due to thermal inirtia in the oceans and feedback mechanisms such as loss of arctic ice and less snow coverage during winter. Every year without a total cut in emissions we just add to the problem.
In terms of mitigation I guess all we can do is to lead by example and massively cut our green house gas emissions, hoping that in a few years the world will come round to our way of thinking and cut emissions enough that we slow the march to a 6C warmer world by a decade or two.
