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Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

bloomberg.com

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Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#31

Post by monknomo »

csours wrote: post #7
CWuestefeld wrote: post #2

I have trouble interpreting stories like these as anything other than scare tactics. I'm not a "denier". I'm acknowledging that there's been an increase, generally in the range of 1-2 degrees F. But given an increase of that magnitude, I find it very hard to blame for the kinds of problems being described here. 1F to 2F is well within the normal range of variation, and so if the roadways are suffering from it, it mus…

I don't know if you've been to Alaska, but a large part of the lowland is swamp that happens to be frozen most of the time. The current roads are basically a pile of gravel on top of that. If the swamp is frozen for less of the time, the gravel moves more. So yes, the road was not engineered with these conditions in mind, but building a road on a swamp is not easy to do, even if engineered correctly. Barely mentioned…

Not even a pile a gravel. A pile of frozen swamp ploughed higher and higher until it quit sinking, then sprinkled with gravel and topped with asphalt

The Tok Cutoff is particularly bad these days

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#32

Post by immist »

hedgew wrote: post #28
JustUhThought wrote: post #3

We are in for a shtt-storm. But go over to Bloomberg news, and they're wondering why the Japanese won't make the tough cultural sacrifices needed to increase immigration, to stave off stagnant GDP caused by declining population and the accompanying demographics. (I get the workers to non-workers issues in play. Even with that, I believe it is telling, which solutions are put forth. Increase immigration. Not, decrease…

Increased immigration from poor countries to rich countries will increase consumption and pollution. Third world aid has a similar problem. The more wealthy people become, the more they eat meat and pollute. Cases like Sweden where more than 90% of third world immigrants stay unemployed are likely the worst of all.

>Cases like Sweden where more than 90% of third world immigrants stay unemployed

Do you have a source to back this claim?

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#33

Post by csours »

scarygliders wrote: post #30

Is HN now going to be taken over by climate change stories? I honestly thought I'd gotten away from all that when I stopped reading Slashdot. Now it seems to be infesting here too. I await the inevitable downvotes.

FYI the downvotes are for not contributing to the discussion.

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#34

Post by jobu »

mc32 wrote: post #26
intopieces wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way is importing workers "defraying the issue"? Also, why would the population of the US decline? White people aren't having babies like they used to, but other groups don't show the same trend. It's the reason why the US is on track to become a majority-minority country long before the original estimated 2050. California's already there. People are still clamorimg to get into the US, and fighting tooth and n…

Japan, by some measures, is over populated. But regardless. World population is stabilizing, at least in mature economies. The US would be in a pop decline, if not for immigrants. If we only count US born newborns, the US pop is in decline. Japan facing this issue we will all face is good for them and for us as their solutions will pave the way for other countries which will follow (much of western Europe and east As…

> The US would be in a pop decline, if not for immigrants. If we only count US born newborns, the US pop is in decline.

That's a popular idea, but it's false: http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2016/apr/18/do...

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#35

Post by antisthenes »

JustUhThought wrote: post #3

We are in for a shtt-storm. But go over to Bloomberg news, and they're wondering why the Japanese won't make the tough cultural sacrifices needed to increase immigration, to stave off stagnant GDP caused by declining population and the accompanying demographics. (I get the workers to non-workers issues in play. Even with that, I believe it is telling, which solutions are put forth. Increase immigration. Not, decrease…

I usually find your sentiment to be buried somewhere deeper on most HN threads that touch on these issues.

I'm honestly baffled at the endless optimism and belief of others in our ability to innovate and disrupt out of this crisis, whether it be technological advances or some market solution.

Some people even go so far as to suggest that we'll be moving beyond this planet in the next 100 years and all resource problems will be solved. It's hard to reply to them without sounding snarky, but I can't help but wonder in what circumstances those people were raised with that line of thinking. They just sound completely ignorant of both history and basic physics when they make those statements.

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#36

Post by dharma1 »

The "fun" starts when the feedback loops really start going

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

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

Depending on how fast we'll see arable land being lost, food supply for 9 billion people in 2040 could be quite problematic

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#37

Post by ChrisClark »

CWuestefeld wrote: post #2

I have trouble interpreting stories like these as anything other than scare tactics. I'm not a "denier". I'm acknowledging that there's been an increase, generally in the range of 1-2 degrees F. But given an increase of that magnitude, I find it very hard to blame for the kinds of problems being described here. 1F to 2F is well within the normal range of variation, and so if the roadways are suffering from it, it mus…

1 to 2 degrees increase in the global average is disastrous in the long term.

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#38

Post by mc32 »

jobu wrote: post #34
mc32 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japan, by some measures, is over populated. But regardless. World population is stabilizing, at least in mature economies. The US would be in a pop decline, if not for immigrants. If we only count US born newborns, the US pop is in decline. Japan facing this issue we will all face is good for them and for us as their solutions will pave the way for other countries which will follow (much of western Europe and east As…

> The US would be in a pop decline, if not for immigrants. If we only count US born newborns, the US pop is in decline. That's a popular idea, but it's false: http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2016/apr/18/do...

That's looking at the last fifty years. I mean today, these last few years. We'd be plateauing, if not for new immigrants and their children.

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#39

Post by kaybe »

JustUhThought wrote: post #3

We are in for a shtt-storm. But go over to Bloomberg news, and they're wondering why the Japanese won't make the tough cultural sacrifices needed to increase immigration, to stave off stagnant GDP caused by declining population and the accompanying demographics. (I get the workers to non-workers issues in play. Even with that, I believe it is telling, which solutions are put forth. Increase immigration. Not, decrease…

Here is one little positive thought:

At least there won't be an ice age, which, according to the timeline, should happen soonish (on geological timescales). An ice age would be very problematic too, and we've averted that easily.

Re: Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways

#40

Post by 91bananas »

immist wrote: post #32
hedgew wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Increased immigration from poor countries to rich countries will increase consumption and pollution. Third world aid has a similar problem. The more wealthy people become, the more they eat meat and pollute. Cases like Sweden where more than 90% of third world immigrants stay unemployed are likely the worst of all.

>Cases like Sweden where more than 90% of third world immigrants stay unemployed Do you have a source to back this claim?

Out of genuine curiosity, what if s/he doesn't?
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