fatchange:Who are the biggest polluters in the world? This question is often shrouded in mystery,

fatchange: Who are the biggest polluters in the world? This question is often shrouded in mystery, but @guardian has written an exceptional series on the 20 biggest polluters on the planet, their impacts, and who owns them. ⁣⁣Needless to say, the biggest polluters are primarily oil and gas companies. According to Guardian’s 9 October article, these 20 companies have knowingly produced about 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions from 1965 to 2017. The Guardian uses the year 1965 because that is when the oil companies became aware that burning fossil fuels was directly correlated to climate change. There is a paper trail indicating they knew the climate would start to destabilize around the year 2000. ⁣⁣Another Guardian article examines how just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of all global emissions. Digging deeper, these same powerful companies have successfully diverted blame to the consumers (us) for the problem, without taking any responsibility for the part they play. It’s true that our individual choices matter. A recent study found that 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from household decisions, such as personal vehicles, meat-based diets, housing, and heating and cooling. ⁣⁣This doesn’t exonerate the biggest polluters in the world, many of which are investor-owned (some are owned by governments). These global conglomerates have known for decades the disaster that awaits us. Yet the oil executives continue to disseminate false information and promote climate change denialism, while they reap record profits, and the planet smothers and drowns. Our political systems have failed to stop it. ⁣⁣So what can we do to stop it? Listed are 13 things we can do as individuals to help. The number one thing we can do is VOTE. Did you know that environmentalists don’t typically vote? Given the crisis we face, it’s all hands on deck at this point. If you are an environmentalist and if you live in a democracy, please vote and donate to politicians who will fight climate change and pollution.⁣⁣See the other 12 things we can do to help stop the oncoming crisis.⁣ -- source link

More pics about