First, read the article \"Global Warming\'s Terrifying New Math\" by Bill McKibb

Question

First, read the article "Global Warming's Terrifying New Math" by Bill McKibben

Second, based on your reading of the article, answer following questions

1. What are the three numbers that McKibben cites in the article? Explain briefly what each of them means

2. What is "divestment?" What is the goal of divestment? How does it achieve that goal?

3. Why does McKibben advocate that environmentalists pursue divestment over, say, focusing on changing individual lifestyles or lobbying politicians in Washington?

4. Do you think divestment is / will be an effective strategy? Why or why not?

Here is the article link

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719

Explanation / Answer

The article deals with "Global Warming's Terrifying New Math",Global Warming is the state of climate change where there is an increase in the global temperature due to the emission of greenhouse gases such like carbon dioxide etc.

1-The three numbers that McKibben cites in the article were -

a-The First Number: 2° Celsius- Under this the Copenhagen climate conference was held in 2009 for the culmination of the global fight for slowing the climate change.

b-The Second Number: 565 Gigatons-This idea of a global "carbon budget" has been discussed under this number in which it was said that how much oil, coal and gas could be burned safely as there was an increase in the earth's temperature by 0.8 degrees.

c-The Third Number: 2,795 Gigatons- Under this number the amount of carbon was already there in coal and oil and gas reserves of the fossil-fuel companies so it was decide to burn the fossil fuel.

2-Disinvestment -refers to the change in the policy through economic boycott and pressuring the government, industry like liquidating an asset etc.The goal of disinvestment is to  maximise the return on investment (ROI).The goal can be acheived through the selling, spinning off or reducing the capital expenditures.

3-The McKibben advocate that environmentalists pursue divestment over, say, focusing on changing individual lifestyles or lobbying politicians in Washington so that the new generation can have the energy-sucking flatscreen TVs ,to provide cheap flights for warm places, cheap fossil fuel, climate change has been tackled and the gay-rights movement has also been constructed .

4-Divestment can be an effective strategy because it is an campaigning strategy and it encourages institutional investors like government to invest in coal, oil and natural gas interests etc.

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