(Note: the report uses the term "sigma", or standard deviation, which is a statistical measure of variance from average.)
Climate change is set to trigger more frequent and severe heat waves in the next 30 years regardless of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) we emit into the atmosphere, a new study has shown.This means that if we were to cut off all carbon emissions immediately, these effects would still occur. This is because of the delay time period: the time required for carbon emissions from the surface of the Earth to rise to the layer of the atmosphere that creates the greenhouse effect.
A major dilemma for humans is their nature to disregard distant time effects in preference for near term satisfaction. Capitalists' time frames are only one calendar quarter, or three months, because that is the time frame for the issuance of corporate quarterly reports which measure profitability. Other people's time frames vary considerably. Because capitalists are the ruling class in nearly all current societies, they impose their values and norms on many of the rest of us. But worst of all, they make the major decisions about when, where, and how wealth that is created by us is directed or invested; and their highest value is profitability which, in turn, translates into power for the major players in the system of capitalism. Other considerations--damage to the environment, exploitation of workers, deleterious effects to the economy, wars, etc--are all secondary. It looks to me like we're screwed.
