Thread by @SteB777

1) Our leaders often peddle the false narrative that we've only just realised how serious the climate crisis is, and that's why they've been slow to take action until now. Below is a link to an article about a TV documentary about climate change in 1981, which exposes this lie.

https://twitter.com/LeoHickman/status/844536544388091904

2) Here's the link to the article by @LeoHickman on @CarbonBrief. There a many video clips from the documentary, and I would highly recommend watching them.
carbonbrief.org/warming-warnin…

3) The reason I like to highlight what was known when about climate change is to illustrate why the reason our leadership has not taken any action on the climate crisis, is because they don't want to do anything to change business as usual.

4) What I'm saying is that our leadership, our governments, vested interests, the fossil fuel industry, the modern media are gaslighting the public about the climate and ecological crisis, because they're scared of the public demanding action, when they don't want to take action.

5)@GretaThunberg often accurately highlights how the central problem is that the climate crisis is not being treated as a real crisis, because if our governments and the media were treating it as a real crisis, it would dominate the agenda and fill the headlines every day.

6) Therefore, what I'm attempting to do, is to unravel this false narrative our leadership, and vested interests are spinning us about why they've so far failed to take any action to prevent dangerous climate breakdown, as evidenced by all the extreme weather events this year.

7) They've tried to excuse the failure to take action by giving the false impression that we've only recently learned of the seriousness of the climate crisis, and this is why no effective action has yet been taken. This 1981 TV documentary, proves beyond any doubt this is a lie.

8) Remember, our leadership is still not planning to take any serious measures to reduce carbon emissions now, despite the UK minister in charge of COP26, saying we face climate catastrophe unless action is taken.
theguardian.com/environment/20…

9) See my thread about the absurdities and incoherence in what Alok Sharma is saying.

https://twitter.com/SteB777/status/1424082025947045889

10) Our leadership are still actively supporting the opening up of new fossil fuel reserves. They are still paying massive subsidies to support the fossil fuel industry and to encourage the use of fossil fuels.
forbes.com/sites/davidcar…

11) Instead of taking action now our leaders are making vague promises of reaching Net Zero by 2050. But this is not real Net Zero. This is fake Net Zero achieved through false accounting and magical thinking.

https://twitter.com/KevinClimate/status/1423561322491523073

12) Despite having know about how serious the climate crisis was for 40 years or more as this TV documentary from 1981 proves, our governments have failed to act. Why?

13) You see, I'm old enough to remember the oil crises of the 1970s and the action governments took in the 1970s to reduce energy demands. Speed limits on roads were reduced in both the UK and the US.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s_ene…

14) In the UK a whole load of other measures were taken to reduce energy demands. It was illegal to heat public buildings over a certain level, and the government advised the public against unnecessary use of energy.

15) What these government measures in the 1970s proved, was that governments were quite capable of reducing energy demands if they wanted to. However, we are in a full on crisis as the extreme weather events prove, and our governments, do nothing. Why?

16) As I keep saying. It is crystal clear that the main priority of our leadership, our governments, is to maintain business as usual. To not alter anything, to not alter the status quo. Why, what is the motivation?

17) The motivation is obvious. We live in deeply unequal societies, where the wealth and expenditure of the very wealthy and powerful rockets ahead of the wealth and power of ordinary people.

18) In other words, a tiny proportion of our societies lead lives of unbelievable, wealth, privilege and status. Measures to address the climate and ecological emergency, would threaten the great privilege of that tiny minority. They are determined to preserve their status.

19) Unfortunately, the wealth and powerful few, control all the levers of power. They own the media, they own politicians. They have the power for massive lobbying if politicians propose any action that might effect them.

20) What I am saying is this is why no action has been taken to address this unravelling crisis, despite it being known about for definite 40-50 years ago. Despite the fact we knew we had to take action then.
undocs.org/en/A/CONF.48/1…

21) This is why they are refusing to take action now, to maintain the privilege and status of a relative handful of people, who maintain control over the levers of power. They are obstructing the necessary action.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1423607…

22) Some background context. In 1981, there were only 3 TV stations in the UK and TV broadcasts ended around midnight. Actually, I think BBC2 normal broadcasts ended at 10:30pm, so the only other option for viewers was BBC1.

23) Contrast TV and the media in general now, with back then in 1981. Were major news channels such as the BBC reporting on the raging wildfires and extreme weather around the world, and fail to mention the climate crisis at all.

24) What has happened is that the wealthy and the powerful worry that the public may demand action to address the climate and ecological crisis, which may effect their status, so they have got far more controlling of what the public are told about this crisis.

25) What other explanation is there for what is happening?

26) Once again, this is nothing about blame, and everything about effective problem solving. If our leaders are determined not to take action out of self-interest and because their paymasters don't want them to take action, we need to know this.

27) The surest way to stop our leaders from failing to act in the public interest, is to make it known as to why they are failing to take action, so they can be shamed into taking action. They fear the wrath of public opinion. That's why they're so obsessed with controlling it.

@ClimateHuman @KevinClimate @GretaThunberg @GeorgeMonbiot @JKSteinberger @ClimateBen

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