Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

news.ubc.ca

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 394 posts

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#261

Post by manishsharan »

wonderwonder wrote: post #126
manishsharan wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> We need more efficient farming, which means GMOs and advanced farming method Considering the fact that so much of the farmlands are devoted to producing animal feed -- how about we as a species start eating less meats ? Make meats more expensive all around the world by imposing ... dare I say it .. caps on Carbon emission.

Issue is that we are not going to. Just like we are not going to solve global warming by individuals making better carbon choices or even nations as other nations will just do whatever they want. We are only going to win these battles by creating cheaper better alternatives. India and China are not going just stop using coal in the middle of their economic expansion. People are just not going to stop eating meat, esp…

>> India and China are not going just stop using coal in the middle of their economic expansion

Why not ? Both these countries need foreign investments and free trade with the industrialize world. Could the OECD countries not coerce them into capping carbon emissions ? As long as Carbon emission caps are fair -- that means accounting for the fact that the bulk of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere came from the OECD countries.

However, Carbon taxes is a four letter word in North America. Sometime back , I saw a pickup modified to emit black soot -- here in Ontario Canada of all the places.

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#262

Post by bosie »

danans wrote: post #171
bosie wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you cite a single type of fish that is currently farmed properly (i.e. sustainably)?

US/Canada Farmed Steelhead Trout, Rainbow Trout: http://seafood.edf.org/trout Arctic Char: http://seafood.edf.org/arctic-char US Farmed Tilapia: http://seafood.edf.org/tilapia US Farmed Catfish: http://seafood.edf.org/catfish Basically, avoid any fish farmed in Asia, as there are no environmental regulations on those.

is trout really sustainable when you need to feed more fish than you can get out of the fish?

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#263

Post by LifeLiverTransp »

buovjaga wrote: post #51

The orange roughy story is particularly sad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_roughy "The orange roughy is notable for its extraordinary lifespan, attaining over 200 years." "Orange roughy is fished almost exclusively by bottom trawling. This fishing method has been heavily criticized by environmentalists for its destructive nature."

Drop a concrete block with a blade - and the bottom trawling is over..

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#264

Post by twblalock »

all_usernames wrote: post #224
_emacsomancer_ wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but in many cases the politicians who are statistically able to win office are about as likely to do something meaningful (and not just symbolic) about these issues as the tech billionaires are.

If the ~50% of Americans who choose not to vote, actually did, that would by definition change the politicians who are "able to win."

What makes you think those non-voters would vote in favor of policies to solve climate change? I bet each one of them would be just as likely to be a climate change skeptic as the Americans who currently vote.

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#265

Post by anonuser123456 »

zackmorris wrote: post #100

I'm shocked that the article didn't mention this, but the mass die-offs we're seeing are because the world's coral reefs will be dead by 2050: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/environment-90-per... https://www.businessinsider.com/great-barrier-reef-could-dis... https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2020/02/24/70-90-per... The effect of this is that 500 million pacific islanders will be forced to flee to So…

>I sure wish a tech billionaire would do something about this.

The only way a tech billionaire can stop it is to facilitate the development of low carbon energy sources and industrials.

This is literally part of Tesla's mission. There are huge numbers of investors pushing hard on CCS, battery, solar, wind, grid etc.

Biotech and ag-tech are pushing hard on technology to lower the carbon footprint of faming.

And industrials are looking hard are low carbon steel, aluminum and cement manufacturing (huge co2 footprint here).

The climate change freight train is in motion. Technology is the ONLY WAY OUT.

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#266

Post by all_usernames »

xenospn wrote: post #127
greenhorse wrote: post #68

It's not that hard to be vegetarian or at least cut back a lot on meat folks.

Most people would disown their own children before they stop eating meat.

This is a remarkable statement.

If everyone would just cut down on meat, even avoid it a few days of the week, it would make an enormous positive impact. Same goes for seafood.

From the perspective of someone who eats meat twice a week or so, it's absurd to hear people say they couldn't do it. Yeah, they could.

Of course, with governments subsidizing the hell out of the meat industry those $0.99 McDonalds specials will keep encouraging everyone to eat it 3x/day...

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#267

Post by pengaru »

zackmorris wrote: post #100

I'm shocked that the article didn't mention this, but the mass die-offs we're seeing are because the world's coral reefs will be dead by 2050: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/environment-90-per... https://www.businessinsider.com/great-barrier-reef-could-dis... https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2020/02/24/70-90-per... The effect of this is that 500 million pacific islanders will be forced to flee to So…

> All due to runaway global warming acidifying the ocean with CO2

Err, what? My understanding is ocean acidification is a contributing factor, but that the primary cause of coral bleaching is the warming directly, not acidification [0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coral_Bleaching.jpg

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#268

Post by hindsightbias »

fizzled wrote: post #184
TN1ck wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While I wish organically growing food and conservation was the answer, its unfortunately not. I recently had a lengthy discussion with some friends about their support of a solidary organic farm, where you pay a flat fee per month and get a box of whatever they have in that week. It's really hard for most people to understand that things like these are not sustainable and that it's purely a luxury product. Terms li…

There aren't any articles I can point you to, but I live in Portland, Ore., and between here and Vancouver and Camas, WA, there are a number of collectives that are doing exactly this. They don't publicize, it is word of mouth. They primarily focus on raising chickens and pigs, and butchering them for the members. All members participate somehow. Some members host the animals, others who cannot, contribute for feed a…

This comment made me realize the original Portlandia episode with Colin the Chicken is a decade old already.

Surprising to me that year-round veggies is so hard even with modern methods/greenhouses.

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#269

Post by zerkten »

mikepurvis wrote: post #180
FlyingSnake wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indonesia is South East Asia.

I think the more pertinent question is how much of Indonesia's diet depends on the reefs. It seems like the answer is "a lot", though it's hard to get a sense of it as a proportion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_cuisine#Fish

It's not specific to reefs, although they may be hit hardest. Acidification and warming temperatures have much broader impacts on biodiverity. The point people miss is that fighting climate change is actually a fight to extend the amount of time before we have even more significant losses to biodiversity.

There are significant conflicts over water (https://reliefweb.int/report/world/editor-s-pick-10-violent-...). I'd expect those to extend to food too, and be acute in some regions.

I couldn't reply to the other poster (nogabebop23) that was making the point that they don't depend on reefs, but their point is moot because this is a global issue with different impacts at each latitude.

Re: Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

#270

Post by [deleted] »

zackmorris wrote: post #256
xoa wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I sure wish a tech billionaire would do something about this. I sure wish VOTERS would "do something" about this, where "something" = vote for the party/parties that actually champion or at least acknowledge the importance of dealing with AGW/CO2 increasing vs actively denying and supporting continuing the current anti-free market policies destroying so much future beauty and potential. This should have been so str…

I sympathize with what you're saying, because I also agree that voters should make informed choices, and never vote for any politician representing the status quo. Unfortunately, the US and rest of the world have to move through a process. Think of it like addiction: we are still in the denial stage. We haven't hit rock bottom yet, but unfortunately when we do, it will be too late. Most species will be extinct and we…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN