Snowflake (Arthur Jeon) should have been published by a major publisher and promoted with a huge budget, and it should be on every bestseller list by now. That it wasn’t and it’s not proves Ben’s point.
Some excerpts below …
[Author’s note: “The media headlines, tweets, and quotes are authentic. And, as of 2020, the facts [Ben] lists about our accelerating climate emergency are accurate.”
“[Forest] fires … produced nine times more emissions than got reduced here [in California] last year.” p3
“The US is the Biggest Carbon Polluter in History” (NYTimes) “Only 4.4% of the planet’s population, America has put 33% of the total CO2 in the atmosphere.” p23
“Ocean Fish Numbers Cut in Half Since 1970” (ScientificAmerica.com) p45
“[O]ur oceans capture 93% of the CO2 but are reaching saturation and warming 40% faster than forecast.” p53
“The International Panel on Climate Change finally admitted our ‘threshold for irreversibility’ is a rise of 1.5 Celsius and it requires ‘rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.’ We need to cut global emissions in half by 2030. Does anybody see that happening?” p53
” … the CO2 we’ve dumped in the past 30 years hasn’t even hit the atmosphere yet. … Scientists predict a 4C temperature rise just from what’s already baked into the system.” p54
“And America’s not changing. SUV sales are surging, wiping out all the oil and CO2 our electric cars save.” p58
” … 21 of the world’s 37 aquifers [underground bodies of water] are on the verge of collapse. They take 20,000 years to form, but BigAg drains them to grow corn—cow feed—in deserts.” p59
” … no country is close to hitting its five-year Paris goals, but even if they did, we’d still go to 3.5 Celsius …” p59
” … it was 70 degrees there [Antarctica] last week …” p59
“Sea level rise has doubled 2013 forecasts. The IPCC undershot the Arctic ice melt, which tripled predictions. Science has underestimated every climate prediction they’ve ever made.” p64-65
“So, all the Arctic sea ice will permanently disappear in four years. … this alone will increase warming by 50%. Boom. Just from one ‘Hothouse Earth’ feedback loop.” p65
” … methane, which creates a feedback loop on steroids, [is] a hundred times worse than CO2. … 25% of the Northern Hemisphere is permafrost … frozen dirt where 1.8 trillion tons of methane lives. … It’s already melting … along with the Arctic lakes bubbling it.” p65
“By 2030, in India, scientists predict heat waves so lethal they’ll kill people sitting outside in only four hours, even in shade.” p66
“[Trump in the U.S.] repealed emissions standards on cars … ended regulation on coal ash pool … handed millions of acres of our public lands to the mining industry … ‘ p74
“… the Aussie government [is] subsidizing 53 new coal mines as their own scientists wonder if the entire continent could be uninhabitable.” p77
“Greenland’s Ice Sheet is Melting Faster than Scientists Previously Thought” (TheGuradian.com) p97
“… the Japanese, now building 22 new coal-burning plants. This, after a thousand Japanese died last year from heatstroke during record heat waves.” p104
“Humankind Has Wiped Out 60% of Animals Since 1970” (TheGuardian.com) p105
“Cattle Ranching Remains Top Threat to the Amazon” (LATimes.com) “… if the Amazon loses 3% more jungle, it won’t produce enough rain to exist.” p149
“There are Diseases Hidden Ice and They are Waking UP” (BBC.com) “Bubonic Plague and who knows what else is thawing out of the permafrost.” p159
“Administration Sells Off Drilling and Mining Rights in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge” (NYTimes.com) p169
“‘Administration Dooms Future by Gutting National Environmental Policy Act” (Missoulian.com) p184
“… 70 million refugees already wander the planet, 22 million from extreme climate events.” p196
“World’s Richest 10% Produce Half of Global Carbon Emissions” (TheGuardian.com) p206
“If Americans cut one burger a week out of our diet, it would be like taking 10 million cars off the road. Christ, how many are we eating? No wonder animal farming takes up 30% of Earth’s land.” (ScienceTimes.com) p229
“Every Seat on a Cross-Country Flight Equals 3 Square Meters of Arctic Ice Melted” (TheAtlantic.com) p250
“Another day, another 110 million TONS of carbon dumped into the atmosphere. Another day, another 34,520 people dead in the world just from air and water pollution. Thirteen million people a year. … Another day, another 14 million acres of wild public lands sold to oil and gas prospectors. …” p276
