One other thought. A number of people have asked me about China's motivations. What do they expect to win, why are they doing this now?

In a word "geoengineering".

Warming right now is running about 0.36C per decade. It's going to get bad, quickly now. There will be enormous pressure to try and cool the planet using geoengineering techniques.

We can do this, it's not delusional. There is a way.

Albedo enhancement. Increasing planetary reflectivity using sulfate aerosols injected into the atmosphere. It will cool the planet down and it's fairly effective.

We have been doing it for over a century. The sulfates used in the diesel fuels ships use are cooling the planet down 0.4C (IPPC) up to 0.7C (Hansen and multiple other studies). Right now.

That's geoengineering in action. Sulfate particulates work. Now we will have to scale it up.

That's what this war is about. Control over the geoengineering project. Being in charge of that.

That's worth going to war over. Particularly if having it in US hands means the next Trumpublican can weaponize it.

We are fighting over control of the global thermostat.

Have you read?

'Under A White Sky' by Elizabeth Kolbert

This is a good book. She makes clear how far we already are from a world of undisturbed, balanced nature — and how far we must go to find a new balance for the planet's future, one that still includes us.

The White Sky is what living with that level of reflective particulates is going to be like. No more blue skies, for the rest of your life.

Because that's what it's going to take.