“It’s getting harder and harder to communicate the two essential realities of human-caused climate change: that our failure to slow and eventually stop it is contributing to devastating human suffering all over the world, and that it’s not too late to act. Experts have long told climate communicators – including scientists, journalists and politicians – that disaster porn immobilizes people, leaving them cowering in a corner. You’ve got to give them a sense of hope, the research shows. Yes, but climate news right now continues to be a steady, terrible drumbeat of doom. During the past few months, we’ve seen an unprecedented, deadly heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that shocked veteran climate researchers, wildfires raging across the West well ahead of peak fire season, and cities and towns flooded in Europe, China and elsewhere. Each of these events has ties to climate change.”

“Climate change is not an existential cliff that we’ll suddenly fall off of, with no turning back. It’s more like a hill we’re sliding down at ever-increasing speed. Optimism has its place in climate change discourse. Many of the technologies needed to dramatically reduce emissions, such as renewable energy resources like wind and solar power, are seeing increasingly wide adoption. But the fact is that we’re still on course for at least 3°C (5.4°F) of warming compared to the preindustrial era, based on the latest emissions reduction pledges. And if climate models that project even more warming for the same amount of emissions are correct, it could be closer to 4°C (7.2°F). Almost unimaginable consequences would stem from that level of warming, particularly in the developing world. The planet has only warmed by about 1.2°C (2.16°F) since the preindustrial era, and even that has left us with a summer straight out of ‘The Day After Tomorrow'” – Axios.