I keep saying it again and again - as long as the main two elephants in the room (population and fresh clean water) continue to be completely ignored, no amount of climate change avoidance will make a blind bit of difference.
Although we only have about 12 years left to reverse it, the actual major events related to climate change won't be felt by large parts of the world for another 80 or so years.
There's about 150 years of fossil fuels left, based on current usage.
I think there's about 60 harvests left based on current consumption and farming practices.
We've got about 25 years tops before the earth's population causes irreversible catastrophic problems for most of the planet, and clean water will cease to be an easy commodity to come by within about 20 years. We WILL be fighting wars over drinking water within most of our lifetimes as we're fighting wars over oil now.
But no one (I'm referring to world leaders and scientists) talks about population and no one talks about water - Catholics and chavs pump out 10 kids a year and nothing will change that, and there are increasing thirsty mouths using up decreasing water.
Specifically about climate change, you also have the major issue of developing countries like India and China, and within parts of Africa, who have an enormous and increasing reliance on coal as they're at a point where the West was years ago, and anything we do in the West counts for nothing unless they all jump on board as well. But they're unlikely to as they're not first world countries and there are still axes to grind between world leaders.
Sorry to say it, but we are absolutely fucked and there's fuck all we can do about it. Buelligan is right - the only way to save the planet is to wipe out every human being on it in one fell swoop.
Also, Simnock - uncalled for I think...
