2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record • Hacker News Board

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#91

Post by josu » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

kanamekun wrote: post #63

josu wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One cold morning, with a very clear sky, no clouds in sight, I overheard two old ladies discussing how when they were young the sky was bluer, they both agreed. This was in Salamanca, Spain, not Beijing, so no smog to account for.

Aging can cause a decrease in retain sensitivity: "Cells in the retina that are responsible for normal color vision decline in sensitivity as we age, causing colors to become less bright and the contrast between different colors to be less noticeable. ... In particular, blue colors may appear faded or "washed out." While there is no treatment for this normal, age-related loss of color perception, you should be aware…

Awesome. I have told this story a few times, but never thought of that. Thanks!

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#92

Post by jupiter90000 » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #59

jupiter90000 wrote: post #40

Is anyone aware if there is reliable data prior to say 1880? [1] Is there any possibility that large scale climate trends could be outside of the observed window of time available? For instance, some large scale natural state-shifting appears to occur on the order of hundreds of years (reference is about earthquakes, but maybe relevant?) [2]. Based on everything I've heard/read/etc about this, it seems unlikely that…

> but I get concerned I'm hearing lots of motivated agendas about it rather than facts. What motivation does anyone have to predict disaster?

Here you go [1]. If you don't want to read the whole thing, a relevant part: "News media is tightly entwined with the attention economy. Newspapers try to capture people’s attentions through headlines. TV and radio stations try to entice people to not change the channel. And, indeed, there is a long history of news media leveraging fear to grab attention, often with a reputational cost."

[1] http://www.poynter.org/2012/fear-undermines-an-informed-citi...

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#93

Post by scarmig » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

jupiter90000 wrote: post #40

Is anyone aware if there is reliable data prior to say 1880? [1] Is there any possibility that large scale climate trends could be outside of the observed window of time available? For instance, some large scale natural state-shifting appears to occur on the order of hundreds of years (reference is about earthquakes, but maybe relevant?) [2]. Based on everything I've heard/read/etc about this, it seems unlikely that…

"Reliable" is obviously a spectrum, and nothing beats a thermometer. However, there are multiple independent reconstructions of temperatures over the past 2000 years using a variety of proxy sources, from rings in trees to coral growth to bores in Antarctic ice [0]. They provide sufficient evidence that the IPCC thinks it's "likely" (a technical term) that temperatures are higher than anytime in the past thousand years.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_large-scale_temperatur...

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#94

Post by Udik » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

Afforess wrote: post #12

flubert wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I live in one of those "Record Warmest" boxes, it really was hot during the past year. You can sense a 0.23 degree F average temperature difference? Or maybe you are unhelpfully confusing weather with climate?

As you helpfully state, it is a 0.23F average temperature difference. That could mean the temperature was significantly warmer for a large period of time, then somewhat cooler. Depending on the magnitude, the temperature could have varied widely, but only increased 0.23F, on average . So it could be incredibly easy to sense.

It might also be that the hottest day were much less warm than in the previous years, but with less cool days.

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#95

Post by moultano » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #66

rayiner wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I get concerned I'm hearing lots of motivated agendas about it rather than facts. What motivation does anyone have to predict disaster?

Distract people from real issues and extract taxes, is usually how people use disaster predictions.

The people making these predictions do not have the power to extract taxes. The people who do have the power to extract taxes (Congress) are ignoring the predictions.

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#96

Post by JupiterMoon » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

VLM wrote: post #51

heidar wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually countries stop burning coal and use something that emits less CO2 as they develop. Except the US. It's still burning the most coal per capita, by far. Getting rid of coal is a great place to start.

Countries get rid of it by burning it, then they stop burning it because its gone. Britain didn't intentionally start lowering production in 1910, they literally burned it all, then had to find something else.

The UK produced significant coal until the early 1980s and the significant reduction in output then was for political rather than geological reasons.

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#97

Post by winter_blue » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:05 PM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #48

ps4fanboy wrote: post #32

Nuclear Power, until those who care about the environment accept that the only clean at scale power solution for base load is nuclear power we will get no where. "Renewables" are great and should be in the mix but they are not an at scale solution. http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/images/ghgemissions/source... By going mostly electric for our transportation and nuclear for power generation we could really make a den…

Earth has a set amount of uranium that is destroyed when creating energy. Currently we have about 200 years of uranium available for economical extraction. But if we tried to replace all fossil fuels with nuclear, we would be out within a few decades. Then we'd need to move to other non-renewable materials (thorium?) or start mining astroids. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-will-glob... And the min…

With breeder reactors, the Uranium should last much longer. I read somewhere that you get approximately 100 times as much energy out of the same amount of Uranium when you use a breeder reactor, and don't throw the fission byproducts.

So assuming we have 20 years of (currently discovered) Uranium, breeder reactors should make that last a theoretical 2000 years at current energy consumption levels.

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#98

Post by JoeAltmaier » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:05 PM UTC

Udik wrote: post #80

oolongCat wrote: post #6

I live in one of those "Record Warmest" boxes, it really was hot during the past year. Its funny how people you would consider uneducated and poor in my country would understand that there is clearly something going wrong with the world around us, while some people with lots of money, influence and education choose to believe that this is all a conspiracy by a foreign government. It's just nuts, really, something is…

people ... understand that there's clearly something going wrong with the world something is terribly wrong This feeling of impending catastrophe, especially when prompted by signals as imperceptible to a human being as average change of 1.33 degrees Celsius (on land) on the average of the 20th century temperatures, to me is an indication of that kind of paranoia or panic that feeds on tiny when not completely imagin…

Is it an anecdote, when every ice mass on the planet is melting/has melted? When 400 century old ice in Siberia is all gone in a matter of a few years? When the million-year-old Antarctic ice shelf is undergoing runaway melting because of seawater rushing in underneath because the margins have melted away?

The planet is undergoing irreversible change as we speak. The only 'imaginary' thinking is the denial that continues despite the overwhelming accumulation of data.

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#99

Post by flubert » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:06 PM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #68

ps4fanboy wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pick a problem, you cant solve them all at once. - mining is pretty much a necessity of life at this point. - 200 years to come up with solutions to energy production while not turning the planet into an oven sounds pretty good.

You've misunderstood my comment. We have 200 years of uranium left at current rates of consumption. But if we replaced all fossil fuels with nuclear, we'd consume 10 times more per year and we'd only have about 20 years of energy available before needing to move on to a new energy source.

Okay, it is wikipedia, but:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor

"Adherents claim that with seawater uranium extraction, there would be enough fuel for breeder reactors to satisfy our energy needs for 5 billion years at 1983's total energy consumption rate, thus making nuclear energy effectively a renewable energy."

Re: 2015 “smashed” 2014’s global temperature record

#100

Post by Udik » Wed, Jan 20, 2016, 11:06 PM UTC

oolongCat wrote: post #74

flubert wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I live in one of those "Record Warmest" boxes, it really was hot during the past year. You can sense a 0.23 degree F average temperature difference? Or maybe you are unhelpfully confusing weather with climate?

Well, you should really try living here. The thing is, you can really tell the difference when you have to deal with this heat everyday there are some days you just do not feel like going outside. The sun just burns, especially when you get down from your car you can feel your whole face burning up. See the thing is, growing up we never had an A/C in our house, no one complained, once in a while yes it would get hot,…

You're definitely scared. It's also a El Nino year, it might be that the weather patterns in your region have been altered by this periodic oscillation. By the way, where do you live?