The climate and ecological crisis is not a future event. It is already happening with increasing frequency of species extinctions, extreme weather events and related disasters. Scientific reports describing the magnitude of the crisis, depending on global pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emission rates, emerge daily. The climate and ecological crisis is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. And so the question often arises: is it too late to stop the unfolding disaster?
The question itself presupposes a binary outcome: either we can or cannot avoid the crisis. But reality is more complicated. There is a continuum of future environmental outcomes of varying severity. By acting now, it is possible to avoid the worst outcomes. Indeed, the energy, agricultural, and transportation technologies needed to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions already exist, and restoration of natural habitats is achievable.
Rising pollution levels and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are driven by the economic growth demanded by capitalism. And while significant remediation is possible and necessary within a capitalist framework, capitalism is ultimately unsustainable on account of its grow-or-die imperative. We must therefore collectively build an ecosocialist future.
So the answer to the question in the title of this flyer is no. It is not too late, provided that working people unite and militate against capitalism and for an ecosocialist future. Survival of life on this planet depends on it.
