Unlike most apparently intractable problems, which have a tendency to go away when examined closely and analytically, the climate change predicament just seems to get bigger and scarier the more we learn about it.
That's because they know it's effective – nothing has done as much to spread the essential truth about our climate change predicament, which is that the world's fossil fuel companies have four times as much carbon in their reserves as scientists say we can safely burn.
If you listen to Obama, he eloquently describes our energy, climate and fiscal predicaments: how we have to end our addiction to oil and cut spending and raise revenues in an intelligent way that also invests in the future and doesn't just slash and burn.
The whole thing, to him, is a bad deal — even in his address to the General Assembly, in September, Trump mentioned that the "United States bears an unfair cost burden" when it comes to the U.N. "Unfair" is also what he has called the Paris climate-change accords, the predicament of countries that accept refugees, and all trade agreements.
The Giving Pledge may or may not contain, but is consistent with, an implicit recognition that facing the global predicaments of climate change, financial volatility, social inequality and political inertia, neither economic growth based on consumerism nor philanthropy as usual will be sufficient.
On the other hand, unattended problems such as climate disruption have morphed into predicaments with no ready fix or near-term solution.
Richer couples could find themselves in the same predicament as the difficult economic climate continued, Sutherland predicted.
He focused on Russia's investment climate and capital flight, but at times alluded to political tensions and seemed to refer to his own predicament.
This was her predicament.
