Maybe we need to despair just a little bit rather than rely on these headlines about a silver lining.

The silver lining is that it isn’t as bad as it could be, and that if we radically change our society & global economy that we can slow down the warming enough that in a couple of centuries the climate can heal.

Carbon (in the form of CO2) stays in the atmosphere for a VERY long time. Well, not by the standards of the Earth’s age, but longer than any human’s lifespan. So the carbon we add today compounds what has been present since before we were born.

The “silver lining” that all of these articles would like us to pin our hopes on is that someone somewhere who has the power to make policy changes will do so.

Will the CEOs of fossil fuel companies read the 3500 page report and then close their refineries? Will automobile manufacturers finally let alternative fuel cars become the norm? Will our governments let us stop relying so heavily on fossil fuels, end the fossil fuel lobby, dedicate resources to research and cleanup, welcome climate refugees, and educate hostile populations about the grim realities of climate change?

We can hope. We can pray, I guess. Silver linings don’t mean much if anyone who can make a difference on a large scale doesn’t or won’t see the clouds.