Santa Barbara resident Eliot Jacobson has strong views on how the presidential candidates stand on climate and the environment.

“The problem is that none of these people are willing to take the steps that are absolutely necessary beginning on Day 1, declaring a climate emergency and going from there to completely reshape how our society operates,” Jacobson said. “That said, in practical terms, Trump is a total disaster for the climate in every way you can imagine.”

Jacobson is retired professor of mathematics and chemical engineering who has amassed more than 80,000 X followers largely from his analysis of climate science and climate data. He has appeared several times on national and international news broadcasts such as CNN.

He is a self-professed “doomer,’ which he describes as something who believes it’s too late to save the planet for humans. The goal is to extend life for as long as possible and preserve the planet for the whatever life comes next.

“For me, what it means to be a doomer is to have realistic expectations, to realize that the planet is on a trajectory that is not going to end well for humanity and most other species in the short term,” Jacobson said. “But maybe I can do a little bit to make it not quite as bad for some of those species, for some of the biosphere, for something.”

He said the best thing that each of us can do is travel less, eat less meat, walk more. Consume less, overall.

“Collapse is the future,” Jacobson said. “We’re in the midst of the sixth great extinction. That is our future. Let’s just try to minimize the damage we cause on our way out.

In this podcast, Jacobson talks about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

He also explains how rising ocean and land temperatures are creating new hurricane patterns and forcing storms further inland than ever before.

“We are at a record high for global surface temperatures,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson also talks about fires in the Amazon and what that the loss of the rainforest means for Earth.

“It’s a beautiful place,” he said. “And we’ve ruined it. Or we are in the process of ruining it.”

Josh Molina is a journalist who creates dynamic conversation and provides media content on the issues of the day, including housing, transportation, education, business and culture. He is also a college journalism instructor. Visit SantaBarbaraTalks to make a contribution and please subscribe on YouTube.