Good news, everyone! If we mandate solutions and spend the time and money, we might not kill ourselves off!

snippets:

Two and a half years ago, when I was asked to help write the most authoritative report on climate change in the United States, I hesitated. Did we really need another warning of the dire consequences of climate change in this country? The answer, legally, was yes: Congress mandates that the National Climate Assessment be updated every four years or so.

Thanks to recent scientific advances, we can now link climate change to specific extreme weather disasters, and we have a better understanding of how the feedback loops in the climate system can make warming even worse.

And while the report stresses the urgency of limiting warming to prevent terrible risks, it has a new message, too: We can do this.

The conversation has moved on, and the role of scientists has changed. We’re not just warning of danger any more. We’re showing the way to safety.

It would be a shame to squander this opportunity. So I don’t just want to talk about the problems anymore. I want to talk about the solutions. Consider this your last warning from me.