Paris climate change deal.

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I seriously think there's no way we'll ever agree to stop screwing the environment. The path of least resistance is to keep looking for excuses and blaming political enemies, and some will always simply pollute because they can. Tell people not to do something and they'll do it even more, just to give you the finger. The future of the planet doesn't look pretty, but, collectively, we don't give a s**t. Whatever will happen if we don't change our ways, will happen, period.

Here in the UK one of the first things "they" did to save the planet from Global Warming was to increase the car tax for larger vehicles, see, its us ordinary people driving cars that is ruining the Earth, but taking more money from us seems to be the way to save the planet according to our rulers, I seem to have missed the big wealthy companies who are really destroying the planet being taxed, and even if they were, it would be passed on down to us via higher prices.
And in the meantime they still cut down the co2 devouring trees.

Who they tax is irrelevant. If they tax the company, the company will pass it on to the consumer.

That is an elementary economic concept.

My understanding is we have passed the point of no return anyway but measured steps can at least delay the inevitable. Wealthy countries have been "playing the fiddle" while letting deforestation and pollution go unchecked. You don;t have to be a true believer. Humans have been awful stewards of this planet.

Any thing done at Paris is a Horse and Pony show. If PRC (China) does not cut back on coal use it is all for naught. China is responsible for more than 50% of the CO2 overload at this time. The U.S. has reduced its CO2 production by using newly found natural gas deposits which produce less CO2 than either coal or petroleum. Eventually we will have to start building new nuclear fission generators which will cut our overload back even further.

China's coal usage is dropping faster than any other nation, as they lead the world in renewables.
China literally is investing more money in renewables than the U.S. and EU combined.
Chinese people are sick of air pollution.
China is also using less oil in 2015 than they did in 2014.

Though India is vowing to increase the usage of coal for the next few decades, unless the developed world is willing to finance their switch to renewables and nuclear energy.

2015 is literally the first year on record where the global economy grew and the global CO2 emissions dropped.

This deal is the best you can get currently, and should do something which is better than nothing.

Yes, it gives us humans a few more years (perhaps) to work out whether we build underground cities or attempt to be terra-novans and create bases on the moon/mars...of course the people responsible for the C pollution will be the first ones to scuttle off...

As The Dude would say, "Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."

Ummm... China? Oil usage declined? That might have something to do with an impending economic collapse. Their economic growth has slowed way down. It is far more likely that oil consumption declined due to pragmatism instead of altruism. Chinese "people" sick of air pollution? As far as I can recall, China is a single party state, not really known for input from the "people" in a democratic process. The sentiment of the people is whatever the state tells them it is. Coal usage dropping?

What about this? http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/1 ... rcapacity/

"China’s coal bubble: 155 coal-fired power plants in the pipeline despite overcapacity"

Sounds like someone is playing fast and loose with statistics. It's all well and good to lead in "renewable energy" investment. That in and of itself doesn't mean a lot when A. nobody else is really investing much and B. they are still opening 155 new coal plants.

That's like saying I really care about animal rights because I donate a bunch of money to the humane society/RSPCA, meanwhile I hold dogfights in my backyard and keep calves caged to make veal.

At this juncture China is responsible for well in excess of 50 percent of the CO2 overload. If China does not do something about their nasty coal burning habit all the shenanigans in Paris will mean zilch.

The U.S. by itself can do nothing. As industrial nations go we are among the cleanest. Coal burning plants are being replaced by natural gas fueled plants which put out less than half the CO2 that coal does.