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Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

bbc.com

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Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#91

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

whimsicalism wrote: post #50
fasteddie31003 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually love uncomfortable thought experiments. My recent one I've been asking my friends is how many years of the current lockdown would you trade with getting the virus and all the issues that go along with that but then being over the lockdown. My number is 1 more year of the current lockdown. My girlfriend's is 3 years.

To be clear, you're saying you would rather have one more year of lockdown than get the virus? And your girlfriend would rather have 3 years? For me, 0 - the reason I lockdown is out concern for others, I am not personally worried of the impact Covid would have on me.

For my part, the reason I oppose the lockdowns is out of concern for others: by the time the restrictions are over in the EU, young people will have been prevented for about two years from doing all kinds of traditional coming of age rituals, courtship opportunities, etc. And if European countries isolating themselves leads to a new wave of nationalism and lessened cooperation with neighbors, it is their generation which will have to deal with the consequences.

I am approaching middle age myself, but I don't think it is fair to limit the lives of people in their teens and twenties for a virus, the median age of death of which is around 80. This policy of COVID restrictions is the biggest betrayal of our youth since May ’68.

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#92

Post by anigbrowl »

breakfastduck wrote: post #89
just_steve_h wrote: post #70

The biggest takeaway here for me is that we collectively achieved something previously considered impossible: by making different behavioral choices, as a species, we achieved the largest cut in CO2 emissions in 75 years. It's tragic that only the threat of a deadly disease could compel such a change, but perhaps we may find other levers to help us achieve such widespread beneficial changes in the future?

All it does it prove how fruitless the prevention of climate change is. A total shutdown of the entire world economy on an unprecedented scale still doesn't track enough to prevent climate change. If that isn't a clear indicator of how severe the situation is then I don't know what else is.

When you're driving, there are two kinds of accidents; the ones that happen suddenly with no warning, and the ones where you realize things are going wrong but you still have some control over your vehicle. In the latter case, going off the road or being involved in a collision is still very unpleasant, but you can mitigate a lot of the damage as long as you don't panic. In many cases you can even get back on the road and resume your journey safely.

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#94

Post by [deleted] »

breakfastduck wrote: post #89
just_steve_h wrote: post #70

The biggest takeaway here for me is that we collectively achieved something previously considered impossible: by making different behavioral choices, as a species, we achieved the largest cut in CO2 emissions in 75 years. It's tragic that only the threat of a deadly disease could compel such a change, but perhaps we may find other levers to help us achieve such widespread beneficial changes in the future?

All it does it prove how fruitless the prevention of climate change is. A total shutdown of the entire world economy on an unprecedented scale still doesn't track enough to prevent climate change. If that isn't a clear indicator of how severe the situation is then I don't know what else is.

[deleted]

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#95

Post by throwaway2245 »

citilife wrote: post #57
xur17 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Given 25 million have tested positive, by the prior estimates, that means a likely 250 million Americans have already gotten covid [4] Considering there are 328 million Americans, that would mean 76% of Americans have had the disease, which I believe would be sufficient for herd immunity. Given what case counts look like, I find that extremely unlikely.

They've been counting any flu related illness as COVID, hospitals also get additional funds for COVID-19 hospitalizations. Only a handful of influenza tests have even been ran: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ In all likelihood, yes we are nearing heard immunity and we're done with the illness. Further, there's an issue with the PCR testing. Though there have been reports since August - October 2020, published in Nove…

> They've been counting any flu related illness as COVID

There are no flu related illnesses: the 2020-21 winter flu season has not happened.

Here are the results for the last 12 months of WHO's influenza monitoring (you may have to pick a country). They are conducting global testing at or above normal levels:

https://apps.who.int/flumart/Default?ReportNo=1

If you look closely enough at the x-axis, you might be able to see how much flu there is.

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#96

Post by selimthegrim »

citilife wrote: post #57
xur17 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Given 25 million have tested positive, by the prior estimates, that means a likely 250 million Americans have already gotten covid [4] Considering there are 328 million Americans, that would mean 76% of Americans have had the disease, which I believe would be sufficient for herd immunity. Given what case counts look like, I find that extremely unlikely.

They've been counting any flu related illness as COVID, hospitals also get additional funds for COVID-19 hospitalizations. Only a handful of influenza tests have even been ran: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ In all likelihood, yes we are nearing heard immunity and we're done with the illness. Further, there's an issue with the PCR testing. Though there have been reports since August - October 2020, published in Nove…

Herd immunity...against which variant?

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#97

Post by nostrademons »

breakfastduck wrote: post #89
just_steve_h wrote: post #70

The biggest takeaway here for me is that we collectively achieved something previously considered impossible: by making different behavioral choices, as a species, we achieved the largest cut in CO2 emissions in 75 years. It's tragic that only the threat of a deadly disease could compel such a change, but perhaps we may find other levers to help us achieve such widespread beneficial changes in the future?

All it does it prove how fruitless the prevention of climate change is. A total shutdown of the entire world economy on an unprecedented scale still doesn't track enough to prevent climate change. If that isn't a clear indicator of how severe the situation is then I don't know what else is.

Unpopular prediction: we're going to solve global warming by the 22nd century, but we're going to "solve" it with nuclear winter and the destruction of 80-90% of humanity. Once we're down to a billion people or so and most of what passes for advanced civilization has been destroyed, carbon emissions and warming won't be a problem.

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#98

Post by snakeboy »

hntrader wrote: post #63
alexfromapex wrote: post #9

Don't forget about the cows eating seaweed development, that will be huge for the climate too

To what extent has this been rolled out already?

From what I remember from previous discussions,

1. It's more expensive than standard cattle feed so it would need a subsidy to incentivize its use (probably a worthwhile investment for the Biden administration if they're serious about climate policy) and

2. there are some hurdles to massively scaling up the growth of the algae to supply the massive US cattle population.

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#99

Post by joseph_grobbles »

breakfastduck wrote: post #89
just_steve_h wrote: post #70

The biggest takeaway here for me is that we collectively achieved something previously considered impossible: by making different behavioral choices, as a species, we achieved the largest cut in CO2 emissions in 75 years. It's tragic that only the threat of a deadly disease could compel such a change, but perhaps we may find other levers to help us achieve such widespread beneficial changes in the future?

All it does it prove how fruitless the prevention of climate change is. A total shutdown of the entire world economy on an unprecedented scale still doesn't track enough to prevent climate change. If that isn't a clear indicator of how severe the situation is then I don't know what else is.

"A total shutdown of the entire world economy"

GDP has barely taken a hit the world over. Trade is virtually unchanged. Hell, some indicators went positive though the pandemic.

I don't really think there was a "shutdown". Passenger car miles might have gone down, but I suspect deliveries and cargo went way up.

Re: Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII

#100

Post by selimthegrim »

citilife wrote: post #57
xur17 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Given 25 million have tested positive, by the prior estimates, that means a likely 250 million Americans have already gotten covid [4] Considering there are 328 million Americans, that would mean 76% of Americans have had the disease, which I believe would be sufficient for herd immunity. Given what case counts look like, I find that extremely unlikely.

They've been counting any flu related illness as COVID, hospitals also get additional funds for COVID-19 hospitalizations. Only a handful of influenza tests have even been ran: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ In all likelihood, yes we are nearing heard immunity and we're done with the illness. Further, there's an issue with the PCR testing. Though there have been reports since August - October 2020, published in Nove…

As far as Ct goes, 25-30 should do it. Even Fauci says >30-35 or so is dead fragments. Do you think everyone is doing 40?
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