Course-v1:edz+11+2023 SP/en/block-v1:edz+11+2023 SP+type@video+block@d5f13bd553d04c64a27534e1f3e38cc8

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description"video in Test Rerun Course - Learn the skills Topics for Impact organizers need to run consistent, high-impact campaigns that invite new contributors, partners, and supporters to the movement. "
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subtitle-849-6589-1"Never before in human history have we been richer, more advanced or powerful."
subtitle-6589-12000-2"And yet we feel overwhelmed in the face of rapid climate change."
subtitle-12000-14820-3"It seems simple on the surface."
subtitle-14820-18760-4"Greenhouse gases trap energy from the Sun and transfer it to our atmosphere."
subtitle-18760-21550-5"This leads to warmer winters, harsher summers."
subtitle-21550-24930-6"Dry places become drier and wet places wetter."
subtitle-24930-29840-7"Countless ecosystems will die while the rising oceans swallow coasts and the cities we build"
subtitle-29840-31070-8"on them."
subtitle-31070-34660-9"So why don’t we just like… prevent all of that?"
subtitle-34660-37469-10"Well, it’s complicated."
subtitle-37469-42350-11"The public debate about stopping rapid climate change often focuses on a few key features,"
subtitle-42350-45010-12"like coal plants, cars or burping cows."
subtitle-45010-50859-13"And so the solutions are often simplistic – rows of solar panels, biking to work,"
subtitle-50859-53109-14"something something sustainability."
subtitle-53109-56719-15"And a huge talking point is personal responsibility."
subtitle-56719-61559-16"How YOU should change your lifestyle to prevent rapid climate change, which we will find out"
subtitle-61559-64379-17"together in the next few minutes."
subtitle-64379-68439-18"This is one of those videos where we want to encourage you to watch to the end, because"
subtitle-68439-81750-19"to discuss real doable solutions, we first need to understand"
subtitle-81750-82750-20"the problem."
subtitle-82750-84689-21"A Fuller Picture"
subtitle-84689-91119-22"Modern industrial society as we constructed it in the last 150 years, is inherently destructive"
subtitle-91119-92930-23"to the planet."
subtitle-92930-97890-24"Basically everything we do to make our lives easier, safer and more comfortable is making"
subtitle-97890-100119-25"things worse for the biosphere."
subtitle-100119-105341-26"The food we eat, the streets we walk on, the clothes we wear, the gadgets we use, the way"
subtitle-105341-110630-27"we move around and the pleasant temperatures we artificially create around us."
subtitle-110630-115750-28"While most people know about the serious impact of energy, beef, cars and planes, many major"
subtitle-115750-118659-29"polluters are barely ever talked about."
subtitle-118659-122719-30"The emissions leaking out of landfills are as significant as the emissions of all the"
subtitle-122719-124630-31"jets in the air."
subtitle-124630-129479-32"More CO2 is released to run our homes than from all cars combined."
subtitle-129479-134640-33"And the emissions produced when making a new car is equivalent to building just two metres"
subtitle-134640-135880-34"of road."
subtitle-135880-140670-35"So it is nice to switch to electric cars but they won’t solve anything if we keep building"
subtitle-140670-143200-36"roads the same way."
subtitle-143200-147550-37"Fixing one small part of the industrial system is not enough."
subtitle-147550-152060-38"Each of the many different parts needs its own solution and many of them aren’t straight"
subtitle-152060-153060-39"forward."
subtitle-153060-157950-40"But even where we know what to do, just because a solution exists doesn’t mean we are able"
subtitle-157950-160390-41"or willing to implement it."
subtitle-160390-165430-42"There are many gray areas in the fight against rapid climate change, the most prominent one"
subtitle-165430-170200-43"is the divide between rich and poor."
subtitle-170200-172980-44"Emissions vs poverty"
subtitle-172980-177980-45"There is a clear connection between the prosperity of a nation and its carbon emissions."
subtitle-177980-181500-46"In other words, richer people tend to cause more emissions."
subtitle-181500-186030-47"So the key to fixing climate change is simply for the world’s richest to cut back on their"
subtitle-186030-188840-48"extravagant lifestyles right?"
subtitle-188840-193090-49"While this would help, it wouldn’t make the problem go away."
subtitle-193090-198620-50"This is because 63% of global emissions come from low to middle income countries."
subtitle-198620-203070-51"Countries where most people are not living extravagantly but are trying to escape poverty"
subtitle-203070-207380-52"at worst, and achieve a comfortable lifestyle at best."
subtitle-207380-212190-53"The unfortunate reality is that, currently, escaping poverty and becoming middle class"
subtitle-212190-215000-54"creates unavoidable emissions."
subtitle-215000-219580-55"So asking developing countries to cut emissions just looks like an attempt to keep them down."
subtitle-219580-224730-56"It is very hard to argue that a region should protect their primeval forests and spend money"
subtitle-224730-229430-57"on solar panels instead of burning wood, when it can’t meet basic needs for significant"
subtitle-229430-231630-58"parts of its population."
subtitle-231630-237130-59"So, cutting back is not a popular demand, especially if the countries making these demands"
subtitle-237130-240830-60"got rich by causing environmental damage in the past."
subtitle-240830-246260-61"For billions of people, more emissions are a good thing personally."
subtitle-246260-250960-62"When we forget about this, we tend to propose unworkable solutions."
subtitle-250960-251960-63"Take concrete."
subtitle-251960-257430-64"8% of CO2 emissions are released by the concrete manufacturing industry."
subtitle-257430-260680-65"Ok cool, stop using concrete, right?"
subtitle-260680-266100-66"But right now, concrete is also a cheap and easy way for growing populations in developing"
subtitle-266100-268320-67"countries to build affordable housing."
subtitle-268320-271440-68"And there are many examples like that."
subtitle-271440-276340-69"Even rich countries aren’t immune from disagreeing about rapid climate change solutions."
subtitle-276340-280910-70"Banning coal, gas and oil from the energy mix is slowed down by heated discussions about"
subtitle-280910-282910-71"what should replace them."
subtitle-282910-287690-72"Citizens can be strictly against nuclear power but also oppose wind or solar infrastructure"
subtitle-287690-289630-73"in their backyards."
subtitle-289630-293880-74"In principle all of these issues can be overcome – but there are things we don’t currently"
subtitle-293880-295600-75"know how to overcome."
subtitle-295600-299570-76"The most problematic one is food."
subtitle-299570-301880-77"Emit or Die"
subtitle-301880-306380-78"We will soon need to feed 10 billion people, and we don’t know how to do that without"
subtitle-306380-308710-79"emitting greenhouse gases."
subtitle-308710-313380-80"Because of the nature of modern food production that requires fertilizers or manure, it is"
subtitle-313380-316200-81"impossible to have zero-emissions food."
subtitle-316200-321010-82"Rice alone emits so much methane each year that it practically equals the emissions of"
subtitle-321010-323020-83"all the air traffic in the world."
subtitle-323020-327139-84"What’s worse is that the foods we like the most emit the most."
subtitle-327139-334190-85"57% of food emissions come from animal-based foods, although they make up only 18% of the"
subtitle-334190-338650-86"world’s calories, and 37% of its protein."
subtitle-338650-342650-87"And as people across the world grow richer, they want more meat."
subtitle-342650-347690-88"Traditional diets in most cultures were primarily plant based with a little meat on top."
subtitle-347690-352400-89"But with the rise of industrial style meat production and factory farming, meat has become"
subtitle-352400-358810-90"a staple food; a regular indulgence in developed countries and a symbol of status and wealth"
subtitle-358810-361139-91"in developing countries."
subtitle-361139-366280-92"Today about 40 percent of the world’s habitable land is used for meat production in some form"
subtitle-366280-370450-93"or another, the size of North and South America combined."
subtitle-370450-374669-94"This is land on which we could otherwise allow native ecosystems to regrow, like forests"
subtitle-374669-379590-95"in the Amazon, and suck carbon out of the atmosphere, but instead most of it is used"
subtitle-379590-381820-96"to feed animals."
subtitle-381820-386810-97"The available solutions are uniquely able to make everybody on the political spectrum,"
subtitle-386810-389630-98"rich or poor, unhappy."
subtitle-389630-394680-99"Meat is highly emotional and there are a lot of whataboutism arguments floating around,"
subtitle-394680-397950-100"like comparing it to the worst sources of emissions."
subtitle-397950-402820-101"In the end it is pretty simple: eating less meat alone won’t stop climate change, but"
subtitle-402820-407010-102"we also can’t stop climate change without eating less meat."
subtitle-407010-410820-103"The same holds true for other things that are less crucial to our survival but frankly"
subtitle-410820-413660-104"not realistic to make go away."
subtitle-413660-418389-105"Like air travel, oversea shipping, mining and the production of devices that play youtube"
subtitle-418389-419820-106"videos."
subtitle-419820-421110-107"So what does this mean?"
subtitle-421110-425340-108"Do we need to give up our way of life and can the poor never achieve it?"
subtitle-425340-431350-109"Can’t some technology save us so we can continue to drive our big cars and eat meat"
subtitle-431350-433420-110"every day?"
subtitle-433420-436460-111"Solutions vs Expenses"
subtitle-436460-442980-112"In principle, this technology already exists: Direct Air Capture of CO2 draws carbon dioxide"
subtitle-442980-447470-113"from the air so that it can be stored underground or transformed into products."
subtitle-447470-452320-114"So why aren’t we implementing it in every industry, everywhere?"
subtitle-452320-456930-115"Because with the technology we have right now, this would cost some ten trillion dollars"
subtitle-456930-460690-116"per year, or half the United States’ GDP."
subtitle-460690-464820-117"This money has to come from somewhere and currently no-one is offering it."
subtitle-464820-470540-118"Just dumping these costs on massive polluters like steel mills and coal power stations would"
subtitle-470540-474710-119"double the cost of their products – and so these industries that operate on very tight"
subtitle-474710-477639-120"profit margins would go bankrupt."
subtitle-477639-481720-121"Getting the government to pay for it seems logical but a lot of state resources are actually"
subtitle-481720-485610-122"tied up doing the opposite, like subsidizing oil and gas."
subtitle-485610-489490-123"Which seems counter intuitive but follows clear incentives."
subtitle-489490-494940-124"By artificially keeping fuel prices low, shipping and everyday goods are kept artificially cheap"
subtitle-494940-495940-125"too."
subtitle-495940-500110-126"Which has a major social impact on billions of people around the world."
subtitle-500110-504840-127"That creates political lobbies and incentives that perpetuate this cycle that makes it so"
subtitle-504840-507660-128"hard to cut off fossil fuel production."
subtitle-507660-513019-129"Meanwhile, very costly solutions for a far-off problem like carbon capture seem like they"
subtitle-513019-517490-130"can wait, as technically nobody benefits from it right now."
subtitle-517490-522068-131"Some argue that a move away from capitalism is the only solution to this mess, others"
subtitle-522068-527119-132"insist that markets should be even freer, without any interventions like subsidies and"
subtitle-527119-531939-133"some suggest that we need what’s referred to as “degrowth” and to cut back as a"
subtitle-531939-534180-134"species overall."
subtitle-534180-539199-135"But the truth is at least as of now, no political system is doing an impressive job at becoming"
subtitle-539199-543369-136"truly sustainable and none have really done so in the past."
subtitle-543369-547180-137"We also don’t have the time to figure this out and do a lot of experiments."
subtitle-547180-549850-138"We must implement solutions now."
subtitle-549850-554320-139"Not just to halt the release of all possible greenhouse gases, but also to start reducing"
subtitle-554320-556360-140"the amount of CO2 in the air."
subtitle-556360-562559-141"It’s too late to just mend our ways, we have to actively correct our past mistakes."
subtitle-562559-566529-142"With every year we waste, more extreme changes will be unavoidable."
subtitle-566529-567529-143"Ok."
subtitle-567529-570759-144"Let’s take a deep breath."
subtitle-570759-574009-145"Rapid climate change and the world we live in are complicated."
subtitle-574009-578339-146"So here is where YOU, dear viewer, come in again."
subtitle-578339-580320-147"Could YOU please fix the climate?"
subtitle-580320-585800-148"A narrative of our time is that we are all responsible for rapid climate change."
subtitle-585800-587779-149"That everyone needs to play their part."
subtitle-587779-589959-150"Why don’t you buy a new electric car?"
subtitle-589959-593759-151"Why don’t you replace your gas stove with an electric one?"
subtitle-593759-598869-152"How about you double glaze your windows, stop eating meat and switch off your lights?"
subtitle-598869-603660-153"Shifting responsibility from the largest carbon emitters to the average person, you, is much"
subtitle-603660-605910-154"easier to do than solving problems."
subtitle-605910-611259-155"There’s an extra bonus if solving rapid climate change sells a new product."
subtitle-611259-614660-156"If you don’t have the money or time for these things, you should feel bad."
subtitle-614660-618320-157"It’s an effective message because it is true."
subtitle-618320-622920-158"The quickest way to cut CO2 emissions would be if all rich populations on Earth drastically"
subtitle-622920-627899-159"changed their lifestyles and if the people on the rise would not seek to achieve it."
subtitle-627899-630649-160"Favouring the climate over comfort and wealth."
subtitle-630649-634459-161"If you are able to watch this video, this includes you."
subtitle-634459-639869-162"But we’ve just witnessed a global experiment in staying at home, not using transport and"
subtitle-639869-643240-163"consuming less during the coronavirus pandemic."
subtitle-643240-648180-164"And all it did was reduce CO2 emissions by 7% for 2020."
subtitle-648180-652459-165"Asking average people to solve rapid climate change breaks down when we look at the scale"
subtitle-652459-654079-166"of the problem."
subtitle-654079-658689-167"Personal contributions toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions are nice, but they are dwarfed"
subtitle-658689-662449-168"by the systemic reality of global emissions."
subtitle-662449-667470-169"The concept of your personal carbon footprint was popularized by the oil producer BP in"
subtitle-667470-669839-170"a 2005 ad campaign."
subtitle-669839-674660-171"Arguably one of the most effective and sinister pieces of propaganda that still seriously"
subtitle-674660-678319-172"distracts all of us from the reality of the situation."
subtitle-678319-683649-173"If you eliminated 100% of your emissions for the rest of your life, you would save one"
subtitle-683649-686980-174"second’s worth of emissions from the global energy sector."
subtitle-686980-691660-175"Even the most motivated person can’t even make a tiny dent."
subtitle-691660-695250-176"When we put together the dangers of rapid climate change, the scale of emissions and"
subtitle-695250-699480-177"the lack of consensus over how to solve it, the challenge seems insurmountable."
subtitle-699480-704689-178"It can cause decision fatigue and moral licensing, where you no longer feel bad about behaving"
subtitle-704689-707029-179"in a counter productive way."
subtitle-707029-712220-180"We have struggled a long time with this, which is why this video took us so long to make."
subtitle-712220-713220-181"So."
subtitle-713220-714720-182"What can you actually do?"
subtitle-714720-718699-183"There are many different takes and they are passionately discussed."
subtitle-718699-725350-184"We don’t know who is right, so we can only offer you the Kurzgesagt perspective and opinion."
subtitle-725350-729529-185"Opinion Part: What can you ACTUALLY do?"
subtitle-729529-732829-186"We need a different way to think and talk about rapid climate change."
subtitle-732829-737800-187"An all-encompassing systemic approach, nothing less than changing the fundamentals of our"
subtitle-737800-740489-188"modern industrial societies."
subtitle-740489-745869-189"As discussed in frustrating length, the personal responsibility angle is overplayed."
subtitle-745869-750610-190"For systemic changes in technology, politics and the economy of this magnitude, we need"
subtitle-750610-754570-191"to influence the people at the levers."
subtitle-754570-758699-192"Politicians need to know and feel strongly that the people care, that their own success"
subtitle-758699-761959-193"depends on tackling rapid climate change."
subtitle-761959-766180-194"When governments and local politicians are reluctant to change laws that affect their"
subtitle-766180-771449-195"biggest tax contributors or campaign donors, we need to vote them out and vote in people"
subtitle-771449-773509-196"who respect science."
subtitle-773509-778749-197"We need to hold them accountable for implementing the most effective climate change strategies."
subtitle-778749-783889-198"Not waste our time with things like banning plastic straws but by moving the big levers:"
subtitle-783889-789100-199"Food, transportation and energy while not forgetting the smaller ones like cement or"
subtitle-789100-791050-200"construction."
subtitle-791050-795869-201"When industries fight against changing their ways, for fear of losses or in an honest attempt"
subtitle-795869-800779-202"to protect their own, we need politicians to change the laws and incentivise the deployment"
subtitle-800779-805879-203"of existing technologies and massively invest in innovation for the fields where we don’t"
subtitle-805879-807670-204"have great solutions yet."
subtitle-807670-812290-205"There is no reason that the profit interests of industries could not match the need to"
subtitle-812290-815370-206"reduce carbon emissions as much as possible."
subtitle-815370-820569-207"And if they still don’t cooperate harsh punishments and regulation need to force or"
subtitle-820569-822430-208"bankrupt them."
subtitle-822430-827209-209"It's still unrealistic that change of that scope can be forced onto a worldwide economy"
subtitle-827209-833100-210"quickly enough, because many low carbon technologies still need a lot of time and research – which"
subtitle-833100-835220-211"means they are expensive."
subtitle-835220-839519-212"But more companies will make more efficient carbon capture systems, tasty meat alternatives,"
subtitle-839519-845730-213"better batteries, cement alternatives and so on, if there is a clear and growing demand."
subtitle-845730-849799-214"And if you are affluent enough, you can do your part by investing in these things right"
subtitle-849799-852629-215"now while they're still expensive."
subtitle-852629-856540-216"These are the mechanisms that will drive the prices down later on."
subtitle-856540-859230-217"So this is basically what you can do."
subtitle-859230-861550-218"Vote at the ballot, vote with your wallet."
subtitle-861550-866290-219"There are too many opposing interests and complicated grey zones."
subtitle-866290-871550-220"In the end if we truly get the systemic change we need, everybody will be unhappy about some"
subtitle-871550-872779-221"aspect of it."
subtitle-872779-877199-222"Only if we all accept that some solutions will have negative impacts for us, can we"
subtitle-877199-880879-223"have an honest conversation and make progress."
subtitle-880879-882589-224"Everybody will be a little unhappy."
subtitle-882589-884309-225"And that is ok."
subtitle-884309-886069-226"This is the best you can do."
subtitle-886069-890769-227"You can deal with the reality of the situation and promote your priorities through your behaviour"
subtitle-890769-892310-228"and your actions."
subtitle-892310-897309-229"And while you do so, you can eat less meat, fly less or get an electric car."
subtitle-897309-900899-230"Not because you should feel guilty if you don’t or because you naively believe that"
subtitle-900899-907670-231"you alone can stop rapid climate change – but to do your tiny, tiny part for the systemic"
subtitle-907670-912899-232"change we need."
subtitle-912899-917629-233"This video was supported by Gates Notes, the personal blog of Bill Gates, where he writes"
subtitle-917629-920449-234"about global health, climate change, and more."
subtitle-920449-924860-235"Check out gatesnotes.com to learn more about ways the world can work together to reach"
subtitle-924860-928459-236"zero greenhouse gas emissions, or use the link below."
subtitle-928459-933119-237"And in the spirit of transparency, if you want to learn more about how we handle Sponsorships"
subtitle-933119-938629-238"like this one, we also have a medium article describing how we do it."