Christa, this is an eloquent summary of the issue. Thank you.

My two cents: roughly half of the country, and much of the larger world, believes in small/less government. This is an enormous stumbling block. Add to that signs of deglobalization, and a coordinated, intergovernmental response to climate change seems like a non-starter.

To take it further: world government solutions to climate change could invite as much calamity as climate change itself, as perceptions of "global socialism" push sociopolitical rifts to the breaking point. Certain GOP members are already calling for a "national divorce." It doesn't help that the media cater to sociopolitical groups, reinforcing ideologies and alternative facts on a daily basis.

Free market solutions seem equally fraught. Even if we engender competition for things like carbon re-sequestration, affordable low-carbon energy alternatives, and renewables, where is the profit? CEOs and shareholders see their bottom line served by endless growth, low overhead, and repeat customers. Sustainability is antithetical to profit.

Nor will a significant number of people voluntarily commit to de-growth in their lives; who in the industrialized west wants to live back in pre-industrial times? Who in the developing world wants to forgo the progress the rest of the world has enjoyed?

We're left with nothing but processing our own grief, preparing ourselves for the chaos to come, reconnecting with our communities in efforts to adapt. Similar to national politics, despite reading and seeing it on a daily basis, there's not much one person can do. More can be done a the local level. So it may be with climate change; we have to consult our neighbors and community members on preparing for mass migration, food shortages, and natural disasters.

TJ