Climate Change

[PB]

I've always thought that environmentalists missed the boat by not heavily emphasizing the direct impact of ecological degradation on human health and well being. Unfortunately, I assume that as long as a few people get obscenely rich from raping the habitat, we're all good.

[Percy Rideout]

When people say they want to "save the planet," usually they mean "save humans" or "save current ecosystems and wildlife."

The planet doesn't need to be saved from climate change, but we do! The planet will be here whether we are or not.

This. We are so selfish as a species we do manage to make it all about us.

Most species on this earth (over 90%) have lived, died, and are now extinct without human intervention.

Humans always want to preserve a snapshot in time. Climate doesn't work that way.

We aren't special, we are the scourge of the earth we are trying to save.

[old goat]

This. We are so selfish as a species we do manage to make it all about us.

Most species on this earth (over 90%) have lived, died, and are now extinct without human intervention.

Humans always want to preserve a snapshot in time. Climate doesn't work that way.

We aren't special, we are the scourge of the earth we are trying to save.

Speak for yourself.

[bodywhomper]

I've always thought that environmentalists missed the boat by not heavily emphasizing the direct impact of ecological degradation on human health and well being. Unfortunately, I assume that as long as a few people get obscenely rich from raping the habitat, we're all good.

Murray Bookchin

[tetzen]

This Australian article really hits home visually on how we are standing on the precipice at this very moment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-...ange/100020944

Human society is basically a stage 3 cancer patient at the moment that is unwilling to undergo the necessary treatments because they are too painful. I hope our leaders are better than I think they are, but the general climate and environment situation is about to get so much worse.

[Percy Rideout]

Speak for yourself.

Thought you were an old boomer that doesn't need coddling...

Sorry, you're special!

[neufox47]

This Australian article really hits home visually on how we are standing on the precipice at this very moment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-...ange/100020944

Human society is basically a stage 3 cancer patient at the moment that is unwilling to undergo the necessary treatments because they are too painful. I hope our leaders are better than I think they are, but the general climate and environment situation is about to get so much worse.

I’m more and more convinced the only way out of this mess is geo engineering. We are going to have to make significant efforts to geo-engineer the planet. At minimum replant forests and rainforest, but probably through iron seeding oceans, and other industrial efforts to remove carbon. We aren’t going to just need power for normal uses we are also going to need vast amounts of energy to de-carbon the oceans and atmosphere.

At this point I think it is geo-engineer or 3-4 degrees c of temperature increase by 2125, meters of sea rise, etc.

[tetzen]

Geo-engineering might be the way to go, but I sincerely doubt there is anyway to reach a consensus at this point on the best solution for that. In fact, we have been geo-engineering over the past century and a half, just unknowingly for the first half, and negligently for the remainder of time. The question is always going to be, what are the consequences for whatever bandaid we try in the near term to reverse our colossal fuckup?

[bodywhomper]

Like iron fertilization

[abraham]

I have been listening to this podcast for a bit, trying to see a more optimistic side of some things. He's a bit heavy on some ideas and I haven't decided if I agree with his conclusions on others but it's been worthwhile listening.

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR...AAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

Carbon capture and storage. Loved by some, hated by others, essential to many an energy transition modeller for achieving net zero emissions. On today's show we explore some of the science and engineering challenges underlying Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS.) We look at CO2 capture at the stack, from the air and oceans examining the technical possibilities, the energy and material costs and the scaling difficulties.


The history of human influence on the climate system is thought to predate the industrial revolution. For example the Little Ice Age is correlated to massive human population die offs and accompanying reforestation secondary to the Black Death and old world diseases running rampant in the Americas.


Since the industrial revolution the burning of fossil fuels has taken us from an atmospheric concentration of 280ppm to 417ppm of CO2 with an accompanying 1C increase in global average temperatures. The laws of thermodynamics make reversing our centuries long liberation of hundreds of millions of years of stored carbon unimaginably difficult.


Enslaving carbon by emitting a trillion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere to power an army of machines and chemical processes has brought humanity unimaginable wealth, freed slaves and extended lifespans but threatens future prosperity. Truly reverse engineering that process to put that CO2 back underground comes with a near impossible price tag, new infrastructure and energy requirements.


Keeping carbon in the ground and abating emissions as much as possible is an urgent matter however many environmentalists and climate activists chearlead the closure of zero emissions nuclear plants like Indian Point last week. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure but in a global society utterly dependent on fossil fuels for energy, transportation, cement, steel, fertilizer and many other vital processes is CCS part of the solution?


I am joined by Sean Wagner a materials engineer with a masters of science in engineering focused on nanotechnology from the University of Alberta. Sean is a master science communicator and lead writer and editor at the Alberta Nuclear Nucleus, a co-founder of Canadians for Nuclear Energy and the lead science advisor for the Decouple Podcast.

[Bunion 2020]

At this point I think it is geo-engineer or 3-4 degrees c of temperature increase by 2125, meters of sea rise, etc.

Maybe so. I am not very confident that society and humanity as we currently recognize it will be the same in 104 years. FWIW I am not certain America will be recognizable in 50 years.

[Core Shot]

I’m from the earth day generation. Mad me sad and depressed for years at deforestation and rampant development.

Now I’ve gotten to the fuckit stage. No way to control the human parasites

[Garfield3d]

I’m from the earth day generation. Mad me sad and depressed for years at deforestation and rampant development.

Now I’ve gotten to the fuckit stage. No way to control the human parasites

I'm confused. I remember Earth Day too. Are you implying that they got rid of Earth Day, or just that no one cares about it anymore?

[Core Shot]

Yeah, no one seems to care. Some individuals care. But corporations and governments are pigs at the trough of the final barbecue
I used to feel guilty. But now I just live. I try in small ways to limit my footprint. But I can’t be guilted into suicide if all the rich fuckers in their gulf stream jets (or rockets into space) could care less.

[WMD]

FWIW I am not certain America will be recognizable in 10 years.

Fixed it for you

[WMD]

The latest science says we are headed for 3 degrees of warming. Catastrophic, but better than 4. 1.5 is still possible but not at all likely. Recent national pledges would get us to 2.4 - if acted upon, which is a big if. I'm not giving up hope we stay below 2 degrees, but even at that temp shit will be bad. Food and water shortages, fires, droughts, flooding, sea level rise -- all leading to mass migrations that will destabilize nations. Start hoarding cash by 2030. Shits gonna get real.

[WMD]

Geo-engineering might be the way to go, but I sincerely doubt there is anyway to reach a consensus at this point on the best solution for that. In fact, we have been geo-engineering over the past century and a half, just unknowingly for the first half, and negligently for the remainder of time. The question is always going to be, what are the consequences for whatever bandaid we try in the near term to reverse our colossal fuckup?

Yep, we've been geo-engineering for a while and it hasn't worked out all that well. It would be way better to just leave carbon in the ground. The unknown consequences of more geo-engineering are terrifying. And you can bet geo-engineering would be used to benefit some (us) at the expense of others.

[PB]

Yep, we've been geo-engineering for a while and it hasn't worked out all that well. It would be way better to just leave carbon in the ground. The unknown consequences of more geo-engineering are terrifying. And you can bet geo-engineering would be used to benefit some (us) at the expense of others.

Sad/irritating but true. How about we establish reliable geo-engineering methods on Mars first before we play Russian roulette with our one and only planet?

[bodywhomper]

Geo-engineering seems scary and highly uncertain to me. But shit will be changing regardless of what we do. IMO, as part of any solution, the wealthier of the world needs to be ready to adapt and to mobilize and help the displaced. I’m not sure how that will happen in reality.

We could wait for the next several enormous volcanic eruptions that deposit a shit ton of iron into the oceans or a bunch ferns into all the large freshwater waterbodies of the world: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla_event

[liv2ski]

I’m from the earth day generation. Mad me sad and depressed for years at deforestation and rampant development.

Now I’ve gotten to the fuckit stage. No way to control the human parasites

I am with you. Humanity will not do shit until it is beyond to late for most of the planet. You youngsters better be working on your Visa to New Zealand, Australia, the UK or Ireland as I read today those countries will be the least effected by the Climate Catastrophe.

[neufox47]

Geo engineering has varying degrees of intervention. Low grade would be reforestation of vast areas of land. High grade is put a solar screen in orbit to filter sunlight. Personally I think we should be doing small scale tests of geo engineering now so we have long running tests to identify unforeseen consequences.


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[MagnificentUnicorn]

The latest science says we are headed for 3 degrees of warming. Catastrophic, but better than 4. 1.5 is still possible but not at all likely. Recent national pledges would get us to 2.4 - if acted upon, which is a big if. I'm not giving up hope we stay below 2 degrees, but even at that temp shit will be bad. Food and water shortages, fires, droughts, flooding, sea level rise -- all leading to mass migrations that will destabilize nations. Start hoarding cash by 2030. Shits gonna get real.

What good will cash do if there’s no government to back it?


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[old goat]

Friend of mine--geophysicist recently resigned from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, who does carbon storage projects around the world for a living--says that capture and storage will have marginal impact due to lack of scalability. Better think of something else.

[WMD]

What good will cash do if there’s no government to back it?


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Good point. Maybe invest in cattle or goats, or just dried food? I just think markets could collapse leading to lots of people losing everything.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Good point. Maybe invest in cattle or goats, or just dried food? I just think markets could collapse leading to lots of people losing everything.

Or they’re losing nothing, you know, fiat currency


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