31–40 of 145 posts
1. It's not happening / not real
2. It's happening and we can still prevent it
3. It's happening and it's worse than we all think
Externalities aren't correctly priced into our market and we're suffering the consequences.
It appears that we have already given up. Efficient, low-carbon-emitting natural gas power plants have been replacing coal-fired plants in the USA, largely due to cheap and abundant fuel extracted via fracking. If that were important, we would not be discussing bans on fracking.
Even the low carbon of fracking is questionable given methane leaks.
1. Even if we can't completely prevent it, we can stop it from being much worse. 2. Regardless of the climate changer factor, polluting the air causes cancer, damages ecosystems, harms our food supply, etc. The mentality of "we can't prevent it, so why bother trying" is like accidentally shooting yourself in the foot, and when finding out it'll have to be amputated, proceeding to shoot your other foot because "what's…
Did you read the article? That's not what it's about at all. The author is saying that we aren't going to "stop" climate change. So instead we should be strategizing how to proactively invest in systems (both natural and man-made) to make them more resilient in the face of changes to come.
It's very well-written, but it's not rational. The content is more political than scientific.
The thing is, it's already too late to prevent pretty terrible effects of climate change, but it's not too late to stop it from getting even worse . Every tenth of a degree can make a world of difference. So while we will most certainly not stay below 1.5°, the difference between 2 and 3 degrees is huge, and the efforts we make today decide in what world we'll live in. Resigning to the inevitable now is a surefire re…
1. Even if we can't completely prevent it, we can stop it from being much worse. 2. Regardless of the climate changer factor, polluting the air causes cancer, damages ecosystems, harms our food supply, etc. The mentality of "we can't prevent it, so why bother trying" is like accidentally shooting yourself in the foot, and when finding out it'll have to be amputated, proceeding to shoot your other foot because "what's…
This "debate" about what to do is always toothless and desperate and pointless until the death toll starts to mount. Even then, the wealthy will make the same old arguments about irresponsibility and willful ignorance of those with nothing, blaming the victims, which seems to work generation after generation...until finally we get multinational instability and with smaller populations, some semblance of change too late (eg states of the USSR) to recover from the devastation. What's the mini-state of lower california going to do about 150 degree weather and no water? Nothing.
Really disheartened that it will hit during my lifetime. Had hoped to dodge it, really. How do you, as an individual, prepare for this?
Don't have kids unless your dream is for them to suffer and live with a steadily declining quality of life from their childhoods. Try to get rich enough before the worst effects become widespread that you can buy your way out of some of it.
I believe that in our lifetime we will see the western countries effectively barricade their borders. When an unannounced ship approaches with desperate human beings on board, fleeing the wars, we won't be even allowed to think about accepting them. The ships will be, not stopped and turned around, but torpedoed and sunk on sight. The corpses will be harvested for feed and fertiliser.
From that point onwards, in another couple of generations, there won't be any sanctuaries left. Not even for the richest. They will all have been overrun, pillaged and plundered.
My only consolation is that I am old enough to not necessarily witness all of it.
The thing is, it's already too late to prevent pretty terrible effects of climate change, but it's not too late to stop it from getting even worse . Every tenth of a degree can make a world of difference. So while we will most certainly not stay below 1.5°, the difference between 2 and 3 degrees is huge, and the efforts we make today decide in what world we'll live in. Resigning to the inevitable now is a surefire re…