18 Quotes by Mark Lynas

Modern Humans have at least dealt out death fairly: We began our existence by killing each other.

For a brief review of our history to date shows us in a very singular role:that of serial killers.

At 1.24 am on 26 April 1986 Chernobyl’s Unit 4 reactor exploded after staff disabled safety systems and performed an ill-advised experiment to check – ironically enough – the reactor’s safety.

The worst case scenario sees the Amazon rainforest burning, huge amounts of methane being released by Siberian peat bogs and so on – by the time today’s six year olds are 60, such a scenario would see global warming already out of control.

Silent Summer – a never-ending heat wave, devoid of birdsong, insect hum, and all the weird and wonderful living noises that subconsciously keep us company.

If we are to save humanity and the planet from the worst mass extinction of all time, worse even than that at the end of the Permian, we must stop at two degrees.

This is like playing Russian roulette with a Luger rather than a revolver. One bullet, one chamber – and we’re pulling the trigger.

I wonder what sentences judges might hand down at future international criminal tribunals on those who will be partially but directly responsible for millions of deaths from starvation, famine, and disease in the decades ahead.

Our evolutionary psychology preconditions us not to respond to threats which can be postponed until later.