Atmosphere
Explanation
This comic satirizes climate change discourse by personifying the atmosphere as a character who is tired of being blamed for global warming.
In the opening panel, someone suggests that to stop warming, we need to "get CO2 out of the atmosphere" because "it's the only way." A bystander objects: "Hey, the atmosphere is the problem." This frames the atmosphere itself -- rather than human emissions -- as the villain.
The atmosphere, personified as an angry bearded figure in a red outfit, goes on a rampage: "The atmosphere has pursued dramatic gestures for years -- knocking over buildings, pouring rain on dry places, making tornadoes, oscillating wildly." In other words, the atmosphere has been trying to get humanity's attention through extreme weather events, but people keep missing the point.
The atmosphere declares: "In fact, while we're 'taking out the CO2,' let's rename the whole damn thing." This is a joke about how reframing a problem (renaming rather than solving) is a common tactic in public discourse.
The final panel reveals the real twist: a banner reads something about an "astroturf" movement attempting to "infiltrate and co-opt the environmental movement," with someone noting "I leave them're catching on." The comic suggests that even the atmosphere is frustrated by the way environmental issues get co-opted, reframed, or turned into political theater rather than being addressed directly. The humor lies in the absurdity of the atmosphere itself being dragged into human political dysfunction.