"A Betrayal Against Life Itself"

They're not the first to call for it but the Greta Thunberg  contingent at Davos is demanding that world leaders end the fossil fuel madness.

“Anything less would be a betrayal against life itself,” said Thunberg and colleagues in an article in the Guardian. “Today’s business as usual is turning into a crime against humanity. We demand that you play your part in putting an end to this madness.” 

The burning of fossil fuels is the biggest driver of the climate emergency. Scientists predict catastrophic impacts unless deep cuts in emissions are made rapidly, but global emissions are still rising.

Their demands echo the warning from renowned climate scientist, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, at the 2015 Paris climate summit that our only chance of averting climate catastrophe depended on the "induced implosion" of the fossil fuel industry. It would be up to world governments to shut down the fossil fuel industry or else set the planet on fire. 

One by one the petro states have chosen the fire option. That includes Canada where a supremely hypocritical prime minister passed a declaration of climate emergency one day and, less than 24 hours later, greenlighted a massive, taxpayer funded, bitumen pipeline.  A betrayal against life itself, check. A crime against humanity, check. Putting an end to this madness? Hell no, we're cultivating madness.

From wildfires that burn hundreds of miles inside the Arctic Circle all the way to Australia in the southern hemisphere, we're running headlong into a wall - a wall of fire. And, despite their lofty pronouncements, that's not a matter of necessity. It's a choice they have chosen for us and everyone else on this planet.