Well, in a very large nutshell, it’s everything. Whether it’s true, whether it’s a hoax, whether it’s calamitous, or no big deal. That doesn’t matter; what does matter is – it’s everything. And if we tend toward the true and calamitous side, what goes with this is global involvement.

The problem with global involvement is that not every country in the world believes in the notions of liberty most ably expressed in the United States; in fact most don’t even come close. So when there is global involvement in anything it suggests that American liberties could possibly be compromised. Because ‘it’ is a global problem, ‘it, we’ve been told, requires a global solution: from free country to Islamic dictatorship.

But going back the to nutshell. It’s everything. Over at Climate Action Tracker¹ they have the following infographic.

The Wheel of Woe is detailed (short-term only, don’t forget; there’s more to come…) as follows:

1)      Electricity:  sustain the growth rate of renewables and other zero and low carbon power until 2025 to reach 100% by 2050
2)      Coal:  no new coal power plants, reduce emissions from coal by at least 30% by 2025
3)      Road transport: last fossil fuel car sold before 2035
4)      Aviation and shipping: develop and get agreement on a 1.5°C compatible vision
5)      New buildings: all new buildings fossil-free and near zero energy by 2020
6)      Building renovation: increase rates from <1% in 2015 to 5% by 2020
7)      Industry:  all new installations in emissions-intensive sectors are low-carbon after 2020; maximise material efficiency
8)      Reduce emissions from forestry and other land use to 95% below 2010 levels by 2030, stop net deforestation by the 2020s
9)      Commercial agriculture:  keep emissions at or below current levels, establish and disseminate regional best practice, ramp up research
10)  CO2 removal: begin research and planning for negative emissions

So what is global warming really? Well, it’s the electricity that lights our home, it’s the coal that make our steel, it’s the roads we travel, it’s the vehicles we drive, it’s the fuel we buy, it’s the airplane we catch (late), it’s the cruise liner we take, it’s the cargo ship that moves our goods, it’s the structures we build, it’s the home we renovate, it’s the factory we work in, it’s the new factory in our neighbourhood, it’s the wood we use, it’s the forests we walk in, it’s the forests we clear for farmland, it’s the forests we clear to build that home we talked about earlier, it’s the food we eat, it’s the farm that grows the food we eat.

What is global warming? Everything. That’s the real problem. When your government, and dubious ‘governments’ from all over the world, get to tell you how everything is going to be – well, I’m thinking 1.5ºC is the least of our worries.

¹ Climate Action Tracker; ‘The ten most important short-term steps to limit warming to 1.5°C‘