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Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

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Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#351

Post by avindroth »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #59
jfaucett wrote: post #19

Notice this is because 80% of the energy obtained was from Hydroelectric power, which is a great energy source because it is reliable - unlike wind and solar which in this case provided 7% and 0.01% respectively and are not reliable. It frustrates me that so many environmentalists are still against hydro because it alters ecosystems when nature itself is inherently violent, dangerous and in a constant state of flux.…

I sometimes think they reject the idea that the whole point of existence is human flourishing and happiness. Yes, many people reject this idea. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I've ever heard anyone express this idea.

Epicurus talked about this couple millenia ago.

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#352

Post by avindroth »

forthefuture wrote: post #183
hguant wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but the core principle underlying all that is that human happiness is a good in and of itself, and a virtuous and stable society is good only in that it allows for the greatest potential growth of human happiness.

Well I'd much rather have Advancement over Happiness. We can be happy our entire lives but if everyones dies before 100 and humanity never goes anywhere I wouldn't consider that a successful society. Happiness is masturbating 24/7 until you die. If you truly believe that is the goal of humanity I can't help but disagree.

That's plain-old hedonism you are describing.

Real happiness is from enlightened hedonism. Take into account the physical tire and emptiness of masturbating 24/7.

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#353

Post by hkjgkjy »

benologist wrote: post #154
hkjgkjy wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Costa Rica did not have to maintain a standing army to protect its borders thanks in large part to relying on treaties and understandings with the US. As a non-american, I never understood what's up with this. Is it voluntary? Are they an independent nation?

It's a completely independent country that simply chooses not to have an army. 60 years ago they decided that money would be better off being invested in their population, and now they are a posterchild for stable democracy, the wealthiest centroamerican country, and consistently ranked one of the happiest countries in the world.

That sounds very nice :).

How come noone with even a tiny fleet sails over there and takes it over? Any billionaire could become a king that way.

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#354

Post by eggy »

benologist wrote: post #154
hkjgkjy wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Costa Rica did not have to maintain a standing army to protect its borders thanks in large part to relying on treaties and understandings with the US. As a non-american, I never understood what's up with this. Is it voluntary? Are they an independent nation?

It's a completely independent country that simply chooses not to have an army. 60 years ago they decided that money would be better off being invested in their population, and now they are a posterchild for stable democracy, the wealthiest centroamerican country, and consistently ranked one of the happiest countries in the world.

I think you are discounting their dependence on the US and other countries to protect them; they didn't decide without these assurances in place. The US forgave a lot of their debt in 2007 in exchange for protecting their rainforests. The US is their largest trading partner.

Mess with Costa Rica, and the US Armed Forces 'will most likely' stand against you.

The US Coast Guard can operate off their shores because of the Drug War and an agreement with Costa Rica.

It's never simple.

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#355

Post by guscost »

ArkyBeagle wrote: post #280
quadrangle wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're confusing "didn't even know they wanted" with "took for granted". In the pre-industrial era with much lower populations, human-sourced massive environmental pollution wasn't common. Many people didn't even realize it was possible. Everyone wanted and most people had clean environments and only learned to make it an issue when the clean environments started to disappear in places.

No. "Didn't know they wanted." There has been a protracted and concerted propaganda effort to change consciousness about this subject. What makes a Theodore Roosevelt exceptional is that he listened to John Muir decades before that kind of thinking was commonplace. I think there was a long span of time where you could set rivers on fire, cut the air in cities with a knife and become sickened or killed by drinking wat…

Good points, but be careful to understand that there is a difference between environmental problems that are "tangible" or directly affect our everyday experience, and environmental problems that are "abstract" or refer to imperceptible hazards or hazards predicted in the future.

When we're talking about the early days of environmental awareness, those problems with coal smoke, industrial smog, and dangerous infrastructure all fall into the first category. The push to break dependence on non-renewable energy falls into the second category (except where using non-renewable energy also has a perceptible effect on air quality).

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#356

Post by JoeAltmaier »

jogjayr wrote: post #295
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #17

" its per capita electricity consumption is about one-quarter of, say, France or Belgium." Its in the bottom quartile worldwide I believe. Also the recommendations for the USA are way off. The "only way" to reach this goal is apparently to build lots of wind and solar. No mention whatsoever of nuclear, which is by far the more practical solution. And far less ecologically damaging.

I'm not up-to-date with nuclear. Is waste storage and disposal now a solved problem? Last I heard it had to be stored in hollowed-out mountains, walled in with concrete.

Thorium reactors may have little waste, with a short halflife. Any modern design will work better than the decrepit plants that are responsible for so much regulation and fear.

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#357

Post by astrodust »

totony wrote: post #345
astrodust wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The consequence is you've destroyed a species and set a precedent and for what? One life? While human life should be preserved whenever possible, there are situations where you must realize that human life is, from the perspective of our role as planetary stewards, cheap and disposable. Sacrificing some lab animals, even thousands, to cure some obscure but crippling disease that affects a handful of people could be j…

It is highly subjective but of utmost importance. Let's say X species of hamster gives no benefit except diversity and there is plenty of hamster species. And let's say wiping it saves 1 person. You would need to consider if this species brings enough hapiness to human to warrant one death. What I'm trying to say is (like the parents I believe) that the only thing affecting my judgement is humans qnd what the action…

It's still not worth doing. That precedent of removing a species completely starts the ball rolling.

Shit happens, sometimes people die, and while it's unfortunate, it doesn't give us the license to turn one potential death into the extinction of an entire form of life.

Let's turn this around: What if some powerful alien life form had one of their citizens dying but they realized they could cure that individual by harvesting one planet worth of organisms. Given there's billions and billions of planets with life on them, what's the harm in killing Earth to save one of their own, right?

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#358

Post by totony »

astrodust wrote: post #357
totony wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is highly subjective but of utmost importance. Let's say X species of hamster gives no benefit except diversity and there is plenty of hamster species. And let's say wiping it saves 1 person. You would need to consider if this species brings enough hapiness to human to warrant one death. What I'm trying to say is (like the parents I believe) that the only thing affecting my judgement is humans qnd what the action…

It's still not worth doing. That precedent of removing a species completely starts the ball rolling. Shit happens, sometimes people die, and while it's unfortunate, it doesn't give us the license to turn one potential death into the extinction of an entire form of life. Let's turn this around: What if some powerful alien life form had one of their citizens dying but they realized they could cure that individual by ha…

I dont believe we (or aliens) require license for anything that has a net benefit for us/them. It seems morally acceptable (it would, imo, be morally unacceptable to hold animal life higher than the human's, except if they actually provided more value).

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#359

Post by benologist »

eggy wrote: post #354
benologist wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a completely independent country that simply chooses not to have an army. 60 years ago they decided that money would be better off being invested in their population, and now they are a posterchild for stable democracy, the wealthiest centroamerican country, and consistently ranked one of the happiest countries in the world.

I think you are discounting their dependence on the US and other countries to protect them; they didn't decide without these assurances in place. The US forgave a lot of their debt in 2007 in exchange for protecting their rainforests. The US is their largest trading partner. Mess with Costa Rica, and the US Armed Forces 'will most likely' stand against you. The US Coast Guard can operate off their shores because of t…

The decision to disband their army came in 1948 after a civil war -

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

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

Re: Costa Rica has gone 76 days using 100% renewable electricity

#360

Post by benologist »

hkjgkjy wrote: post #353
benologist wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a completely independent country that simply chooses not to have an army. 60 years ago they decided that money would be better off being invested in their population, and now they are a posterchild for stable democracy, the wealthiest centroamerican country, and consistently ranked one of the happiest countries in the world.

That sounds very nice :). How come noone with even a tiny fleet sails over there and takes it over? Any billionaire could become a king that way.

They'd still have to hold the country, but actually that happened to a city in the next country north, when a William Walker decided to be president of Nicaragua:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(filibuster)

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