Stephen Barlow Profile picture
Jun 3, 2022 8 tweets 2 min read Read on X
People often ask what I mean by system change re: the climate and ecological crisis. It is very simple. I mean a full shift to a truly sustainable society/economy. This means changing more or less every convention of our modern society.
Sustainable means what it says. A society and economy in balance with the ecological carrying capacity of the Earth. Essentially that means no unsustainable trends, where our impact on the natural systems of the world is growing.
You see, in ecological terms, if there is a component, where it's impact on natural systems is constantly growing. Eventually it will have catastrophic effects, impacting also on the component driving it i.e. human society.
Lots of natural components have growing impacts. Let's say an exploding population of rodents. But this is eventually counteracted, by a sudden fall in the population of that rodent. Often, it produces a cycle or rise and fall.
Humans appear to have got out of this cycle and effect, by using innovation to get around what would cause that contraction in that growth. For instance, the use of fertilisers and pesticides.
But this is at the cost of destroying other ecosystem components and biodiversity, which in a long loop, will eventually have serious impacts on us, that we can't innovate our way out of.
There is no simple recipe for creating a sustainable society economy. However, if we don't want our population, our civilization, our society and economy to crash, it is essential.
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More from @SteB777

Jul 29
Andy Burnham has got a lot to say about a lot of things. But bizarrely he has totally ignored the extreme, record-breaking series of heatwaves in the UK and devastating wildfires in Europe. Same with regard to the warnings of food shortages and price rises caused by them.
1/4
That is grossly irresponsible leadership and I would ask if @AndyBurnham has ever attended the National Emergency Briefing on the Climate and Nature Crisis, by leading experts.

If not, why not?

Is he in actively denial?

2/4nebriefing.org
Once again, why do I have to keep pointing out the UK's Intelligence Chiefs have warned about huge impacts on the UK, food shortages, global conflict, in the near future, from a National Security perspective. The current Labour administration, under both Starmer and now Burnham have totally ignored this as if it is not happening.

This is far more serious and urgent than the relative trivia, Andy Burnham has been prattling on about. It is a direct threat to the UK's national interest, national security and a serious threat to the public.

You can only speculate the furious and intense lobbying Andy Burnham has been subjected to, behind the scenes, not to acknowledge the climate and ecological emergency.

Andy Burnham can run, but he can't hide, because I can guarantee these issues are going to catch up with him, in the most unpleasant way, in his term of office. He is being very unwise in turning a blind-eye and hoping it will just go away. That is why we have a climate and ecological emergency.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0eae…
3/4
Read 5 tweets
Jul 23
I think what has hampered climate action, is because governments have got stuck in a mindset, that wrongly imagined climate change, wouldn't be a major threat until the poles melted and sea level rose by several metres, at the end of the century.
1/🧵
This false idea that only major physical impacts will endanger our civilization, has put us in serious danger. It's because climate scientists are generally physicists, who have never studied ecology or life sciences, and only thing in terms of direct physical effects.
2/
I am not blaming climate scientists, just explaining why they overlook the profound ecological impacts.

Ecological science is as much to blame as it is artificially delineated to only study the interactions of non-human organisms.
3/
Read 16 tweets
Jul 23
I have been trying to warn of the immediate threat of climate change, and possible food shortages/food hyperinflation for years, because our government/governments are recklessly negligent. I will briefly explain, why they are ignoring the warnings.
1/5🧵
Governments know that the moment they acknowledge the immediate threat of climate change, that it would create a clamour by the public for governments to take action and change the system. Governments want to avoid, because of pressure on them.
2/5
It would create huge alarm on financial markets, and behind the scenes, powerful vested interests will almost certainly be putting huge pressure on the most senior politicians in power, not to acknowledge the reality, and immediate threat of the climate crisis.
3/5
Read 7 tweets
Jul 22
"As new prime minister briefs cabinet on ‘cost of living government’, critics ask where money will come from"

The "cost of living crisis" = "the climate and ecological crisis". They are one and the same. This connection is hidden, by euphemisms.

1/🧵theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
I am not grasping at straws to make this connection. It must be understood that ecology, is the relationship and interdependence of everything. The human economy isn't separate from it, it is a part of it.
2/
Some of the connections are obvious. Food prices have sharply risen, often because of "extreme weather", which is a euphemism for climate change, as there is no weather, independent of the climate, which is just the accumulation of weather patterns over time.
3/
Read 22 tweets
Jul 20
"Burnham to say UK must be honest about its challenges as he prepares to become PM"

The why isn't Andy Burnham being honest about the climate and ecological emergency, and the serious challenges it poses to the UK?

"as he prepares to introduce measures to ease the cost of living and allow more North Sea fossil fuel drilling."
theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
1/5🧵
After all this report is by the UK Intelligence Services and is on the UK Govt website.

"Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten UK national security and prosperity. The world is already experiencing impacts including crop failures, intensified natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks."

Look at the dates given, this is not some far off future threat.

"The resilience of human systems to ecosystem degradation is moderately uncertain and the wider geopolitical context out to 2030 and 2050 is highly uncertain."
gov.uk/government/pub…
2/5
Then there is potential AMOC collapse, driven by climate change, which would make agriculture in Northern Europe, including the UK, all but impossible. Along with other major climate impacts.

3/5gov.uk/government/pub…
Read 7 tweets
Jul 13
"May and June heatwaves killed about 2,700 people in England and Wales, data suggests"

There is profound misunderstanding about the climate crisis, because we have seen nothing yet, if politicians had taken the action they promised 33 years ago, we would not be in this situation.

1/🧵theguardian.com/environment/20…
Let's get this clear, our political leaders are wholly responsible for the climate emergency. They were the only people with the power to take action, and they repeatedly promised to take action, and then failed to take that action.

The public are not to blame.
2/
I hear lots of people blaming the public. This is entirely misguided. The majority of the public have been in favour of climate action since the late 1980s. This is a verifiable fact, and it is why our scheming politicians promised action.

3/wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.100…
Read 13 tweets

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