[m0zg]

But there _are_ "such people". The wealthy elite, to be exact. They can order the government to do as they please. If the situation is dire, and their collective several trillion dollars are going to go up in smoke in their lifetime, you can bet they'd ram whatever programs they like through the government to avert that. Take the progressive icon such as Jeff Bezos. $120 billion fortune, trillion-dollar company employing 800K people. All of this is entirely dependent (presumably) on the world order not collapsing by the end of the century. And it's not like the guy is illiterate or anything - he's into space exploration and building hundred thousand year clocks. The amount he pledges to fight climate change? Less than 10% of his wealth. Comparably wealthy Gates, who can't shut up about climate change, spends relatively little on it in his philanthropic efforts. Barack Obama, who should be supremely informed on the topic, bought a property near the ocean for $12M. I refuse to believe that these three people in particular are uninformed. I also refuse to believe that they wouldn't be able to effect change if they really wanted to. And by "change" I don't mean just speaking from a podium like you see them do all the time. I mean real, actual change: fund programs, push sensible stuff through the government, etc, etc.

The rational conclusion I make from all this: the rumors of our impending demise have been greatly exaggerated, if all people with means and influence do to avert it is read bullshit from a teleprompter every now and then.

[Mvandenbergh]

While I accept your point that very wealthy people do not appear to be acting rationally if uncontrolled climate change will cause as much damage as the forecasts assume, I have two counterpoints:

1) People do act irrationally, even well informed people.

2) I don't actually agree that "they can order the government to do as they please". Saudi Arabia killed one of Bezos' employees and hacked into his phone. What has he been able to compel the US government (headed by someone who hates him) to do about it? Barack Obama did attempt to change US policy on climate change and was not able to because no single person has the ability to move US policy that way.

[m0zg]

Khashoggi wasn't Bezos' employee. Even if he were, he'd be one of almost a million people he employs directly or indirectly.

From reading the report it's debatable Bezos' phone was hacked at all. The report seems to be more to provide plausible deniability to whatever Sanchez's relative that leaked Jeff's dick pics to the press.

I don't see what SA has to do with any of this.