“The window in which to prevent the worst scenarios is closing before our eyes. And the fossil-fuel industry—which holds the fate of humanity in its carbon reserves—is doubling down, economically and politically, on all this destruction. We face an unprecedented situation—a radical situation. It demands a radical response. A serious response…

The question now is not whether we’re going to “stop global warming” or “solve the climate crisis”; it is whether humanity will act quickly and decisively enough to salvage civilization itself—in any form worth salvaging. Whether any kind of stable, humane, and just future—any kind of just society—is still possible.

We know that if the governments of the world actually wanted to address the situation in a serious way they could…

Where does this leave us? What is the proper response? Remain calm, we’re told. No “scare tactics” or “hysterics,” please. Cooler heads will prevail. Enjoy the Earth Day festivities.

I’m sorry, the cooler heads have not prevailed. It’s been a quarter-century since the alarm was sounded. The cooler heads have failed.

If you want sweet, cool-headed reason, try this: masses of people—most of them young, a generation with little or nothing to lose—physically, nonviolently disrupting the fossil-fuel industry and the institutions that support it and abet it. Getting in the way of business as usual. Forcing the issue. Finally acting as if we accept what the science is telling us – and as though we actually care about our fellow human beings.

Isn’t that a bit extreme?

Really? Extreme? Business as usual is extreme. Just ask a climate scientist. The building is burning. The innocents—the poor, the oppressed, the children, your own children—are inside. And the American petro state—which, under the “all of the above” energy policies of Barack Obama, has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the largest producer of oil and gas on the planet – is spraying fuel, not water, on the flames. That’s more than extreme. It’s homicidal. It’s psychopathic. It’s fucking insane.”