The Arctic region has been a massive store of carbon for thousands of years. Now it’s warming between 3 and 7 times faster than the global average and that carbon is escaping into our atmosphere. The latest research suggests that more than a third of it is now a net emitter! And in case you’re wondering…that’s NOT good!
I think people greatly misunderstood me here: I’m not arguing FOR it!?! (Though I can see how the language of “hard calls” would lead to that impression, so that’s on me). I am merely trying to understand the potential motivations of the actual people who matter, in terms of shaping empires (since apparently the populace no longer does, at least in many places e.g. in both South - and increasingly we are now seeing North also - America). Ofc these are trends not firm facts, e.g. Canada may have its democracy imperilled but it is nowhere close to what seems to be going on inside the USA, or e.g. Brazil.
But ofc I could be way off. In the past we had many different sources of news media outlets, while in the modern world we seem to have far fewer choices, curated for us by oligarchs (so… same as it ever was, but again, with fewer options, so representing a difference in degree rather than in kind). By holding hostage whatever the actual Truth is, and replacing it with their own curated version, they influence societies to such a large degree that the common man (or woman) no longer “matters”, by comparison.
And I was thinking that in the past, democracies seem to have been fashionable to those oligarchs. It produced things like cures for various cancers that no amount of individual funding as a patron was going to make happen.
Whereas now… a new, different set of oligarchs no longer seems to want what democracy can provide. Either due to ignorance or… whatever.
But you are right that this is all just a guessing game.