Relevant Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis
Frankly I am surprised this isn't in the article at all, as it was what I immediately thought of on reading about methane release and permafrost.
Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
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Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks, but what "conspiracy tinge?" Planning for likely future conflict scenarios is what governments and militaries do. They have entire departments full of people who do it full time. It's not at all unreasonable to think they've looked at climate change and the possible outcomes and that powerful factions within government (and elsewhere) may have come to conclusions like what I wrote.
You lead with the idea that people in power have made a secret decision to do away with democracy and deploy totalitarianism. This is by definition a conspiracy. The rest of what you said, plus what you just said about departments of people already looking at this I find quite realistic. Someone else just posted this 10 year old video on the geopolitics of climate change. I wanted to make sure you saw it. https://www…
While I'd say it's more of a tacit agreement than a 'here's the plan which we've each signed our names to' type conspiracy, it seems entirely reasonable to conclude that those with power and resources fully intend to conserve it - indeed, I'd argue that this is what political conservatives are motivated by these days, as opposed to legacies or institutions. In past times of apparent infinite possibility it was reasonable to believe the notion of endless trans-generational growth that justified what Plato called the 'noble lie', but when there's a sense that the ship is sinking the rich have no compunction about pushing others out of the lifeboats because that's what they're used to doing.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Basic income also means citizens can't be held as economic hostages by obsolete "too big to fail" industry players who've achieved significant regulatory capture. The labor market can't efficiently shift supply around when workers are trapped in crushing poverty and stressed to the breaking point.
When I think about basic income I see everyone suddenly being able to afford a lot more which is good and I like that. But what I do worry is that as soon as the stores realize people have more cash to spend they start to increase the prices to match that. So how do we prevent that if we implement a basic income? I think what would be better then a basic income is some sort of basic housing, health and food rights. I…
700 square feet? That's 65 square meters, who even wants that much space for one person? A good-sized flat for a person here has around 40 square meters, so 430 square feet. Insane.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Once voters realize that this would take personal cost for benefits they won't see in their lifetime, I can't see them willfully voting for any substantial reversal. Luckily renewable energy is getting to the point where it actually saves money over fossil fuel based energy. People might be loathe to move to electric or fuel cell vehicles, but costs are coming down there too, not to mention that many governments ar…
The ICE vehicle bans don't seem realistic. If they set a goal like 10% sales first year, 20% next year etc, then I can understand a goal for a total ban in 10 years. Sometimes politicians set unrealistic goal expecting they won't be involved by the time the deadline reaches. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehic...
What we're starting to see is that enough major global markets have committed to banning combustion engines in cars in the next 10-20 years, that it will make economic sense for global auto manufacturers to focus their product development on alternative fuel vehicles.
Mercedes just announced that they will cease development of combustion engines to focus on EV's. VW Audi Group just said that this is their last generation of combustion engines. I suspect we'll see similar announcements from other manufacturers in not too long.
We may see some countries soften their goals, but I think if some of the big automotive players commit to having products available to meet those goals, there won't be much need to relax the goals. Only things that would cause a rollback is if anti-environmental politicians get into power or governments attempting to protect domestic car companies that are late making the shift.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
start using nuclear, solar, and wind power asap and quit burning fossil fuels asap and start having only 1 or 0 children for a while.
How can I, as a citizen, decide to use eg solar power? If my power provider burns coal, how can I affect that?
That depends on your country. Here you can choose your provider, for example, or put your own grid-connected solar panels up.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#146There's already a news on front page at the moment which says bird population is declining in North America. The comments section mention that it's not just North America but also Britain, France and also that it could be due to declining insect population. We rarely get this kind of data from developing countries, which means these studies are rarely or not at all performed simply because they don't have resources t…
"We" may not be waiting at all, the readers of HN and other tech-centric websites. Many people here may be improving their personal behaviors, but that is never going to be enough. What WE need to do is VOTE, first off, and second, realize that politicians and corporate entities are those with the power to truly shift our behavior as an economy. Until politicians and corporations make huge moves, we'll be stuck waiti…
Automated market movements take place in milliseconds and those in developed countries mostly enjoy access to more or less instantaneous communication. The idea that the best response to political problems is to patiently vote every 2 years and expect that to have more of an impact that actions taken on shorter timescales is absurd.
Voting is nice in theory but in practice is extremely amendable to corruption. 18th century technology isn't cutting it in the 21st century. In a rational world our legal code would be editable like Wikipedia built on top of blockchain. If you look at representative government as an information system it's screamingly obvious that it no longer functions properly and is ripe for abuse.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
"We" may not be waiting at all, the readers of HN and other tech-centric websites. Many people here may be improving their personal behaviors, but that is never going to be enough. What WE need to do is VOTE, first off, and second, realize that politicians and corporate entities are those with the power to truly shift our behavior as an economy. Until politicians and corporations make huge moves, we'll be stuck waiti…
That’s very high and noble but look at France and les Gilets jaunes. Even voting in people willing to bite the bullet and pull the trigger on much needed actions is not enough. And that’s a shame because the general consensus is that in terms of effectiveness (i.e. not accounting for economic fallout), simply directly taxing CO2 emissions at “only” $60-100 per metric ton would work instant miracles.
Yeah, you're right. Even if we do vote, it's likely we will fail. Even if we ignore the US senate as a major, broken obstacle to climate legislation...will any said legislation actually be in time? will it be enforced? will it not be challenged by courts?
Vote anyways, it's our duty to at least do that.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#148The only way forward, the only chance we have is to invent technology to trap and sequester green houses gases from the upper atmosphere. Reducing human greenhouse gas output won’t happen fast enough to fix things, and I’m not sure that it’s possible to capture and trap existing green house gases, but it’s the only chance we have, because it’s the only way to stop the positive feedback loops that are currently runnin…
I agree that we'll probably need capture, but just want to inject a concern I have with seeing capture as salvation: Any capture/sequestration tech that produces marketable byproducts may have a big leg up on any tech that has to depend on large purely-altruistic investments. Technology tends to get more efficient with time/investment/scale. If any capture/sequestration processes achieve profitability (maybe even jus…
All scenarious in the latest IPPC report (SR15 - Global Warming of 1.5 ºC) require carbon sequestration, so it's really not optional anymore if we want to stay below 1.5°C warming.
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/SPM3...
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I think about basic income I see everyone suddenly being able to afford a lot more which is good and I like that. But what I do worry is that as soon as the stores realize people have more cash to spend they start to increase the prices to match that. So how do we prevent that if we implement a basic income? I think what would be better then a basic income is some sort of basic housing, health and food rights. I…
700 square feet? That's 65 square meters, who even wants that much space for one person? A good-sized flat for a person here has around 40 square meters, so 430 square feet. Insane.
My dads tiny home is 10x10 feet and has a second level which is really only 4 feet tall mainly for sleeping a tv and a dresser. The place is perfect for a single person. He went with closed cell spray foam and the place can be heated on a candle practically. It has a toilet and shower, mini fridge and sink. I will admit storage is a little tight but as for living space perfect for a single person. It was made to be extremely energy efficient and with climate change I think we should aim to be more like it not have some minimum.
Re: Researchers are racing to find out why methane levels are increasing so fast
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you know if there are any current technologies to trap and sequester green house gases ?
As far as I know, the most cost-effective method is very low tech--just find a good area and plant a variety of native trees.
The biggest problem I see is that you now have to protect those trees for basically forever. Fires will only become more problematic, and the push for more usable land as well. Also, trees take decades to grow, which we don't have.
Better than nothing yes, but not enough.