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Self-interest. As we move closer to irreversible global warming, millions of consumer lives will be disrupted. Many consumers may perish. Business as we have known it will become impossible to conduct because the safe and consistent environment needed for manufacturing, supply distribution, retailing, etc., will become too unreliable and unstable to maintain a continually profitable operation. The ensuing impact will be the crashing of economies, likely followed by the destabilization of governments. In short, Berkshire has a lot to lose if no climate course correction is made.
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Sense of Responsibility. Although we are all responsible for the toxic carbon and methane pollution we put in the atmosphere, some bear proportionately more of this burden than others causing more fossil fuel pollution in the creation and maintenance of their industries and their wealth. Some continue to use far more fossil fuels to maintain their business activities and lifestyles. Berkshire’s holdings in coal-powered energy interests and coal transportation would be one example.
Another aspect of responsibility, ethical and social, resides within the concept of “wealth obliges,” similar to the old French concept of noblesse oblige. This updated concept implies that possessing great wealth is an ethical obligation to assume reasonable leadership responsibility to promote and protect the common well-being. The well-known planned distribution of your personal legacy wealth to charity exemplifies this concept. I applaud you for that. -
Timing and “Practical Responsibility.” There is a wide consensus that time is running short on resolving global warming before dire consequences occur. This makes it impractical—even dangerous—to expect that a bottom-up mass movement can coalesce in time to address it. Only a few among us have adequate, access and effective influence with the world’s decision-makers and politicians. You are one of those people I would suggest having a “practical responsibility” to carry out your social responsibility to protect the common good in humanity. Without the powerful influence that leaders like you can exert, there is simply not enough time or ability to marshal the resources and actions to resolve escalating global warming before we suffer irreversible consequences.
- Other More Negative Reasons to Act. Click here and read this page!
- Use your influence to forward the government-driven actions listed on this page!
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Schedule a global warming meeting of national and world leaders to formally declare a national and international global warming State of Emergency and take action to prevent our current situation from crossing any critical climate tipping points. Crossed tipping points refer to the climate crossing thresholds after which a destructive trend can no longer be reversed and/or in which truly cataclysmic consequences of warming begin to occur, such as extinction-level climate destabilization. This meeting of leaders should treat its global warming tipping point prevention goals as a critical part of this emergency situation. (More information about the global warming tipping points can be found here:http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/climate_tipping_points )
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Once the emergency has been eliminated, begin a global warming temperature maintenance program to get atmospheric toxic carbon pollution in parts per million (ppm) back down to the safe, long-term stability maintenance level of atmospheric carbon 325 to 350 ppm. We are currently at approximately 400 ppm, and the rate, especially since the year 2000, has been increasing faster each year. We may cross one or more of the critical climate tipping points unless we get back down to carbon 350 ppm.
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Create a Fee and Dividend-based toxic carbon/methane air pollution reduction program.
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Create a new global warming risk analysis as well as mandate annual global warming risk analysis updates.
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Implement government subsidies and incentives for expanding green energy generation and use, and remove such subsidies from fossil fuel energy generation.
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Require the creation of a separate global warming emergency reserve fund equal to 5% of national GDP to help pay for escalating global warming disruptions and catastrophes.
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Create programs to increase natural and technology-driven carbon sequestration.
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Incentivize divestment from fossil fuel industries.
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Authorize and require the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, and the international and national banking transaction clearinghouses to impose both loan and banking transaction financial penalties and interest penalty fees on any nation or corporation that violates the new global warming reduction laws.
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Create a top-down global education program to help the general public understand the urgency and need for the rapid change from fossil fuel energy generation to green energy generation.