And yet, most of humanity still seems to be only vaguely aware of how much things are breaking all around us. And politicians are unfortunately not an exception.
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Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
11–20 of 39 posts
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#12I appreciate the pristine and untouched beauty of Yosemite as much as anyone, and I backpack in its wilderness at least once a year. But the government could be doing a lot more to clear the forests and prevent the rapid spread of wildfires. Auctioning off the old growth they need to chop down, or clearing the forest floor of fuel where possible could pay for itself, and protect what is left.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#13I don’t want understate the impact of climate change, but if the author is comparing the dryness of 2021 specifically to 1993… 1993 was the 5th wettest year in California since the 1930s, and 2021 is a drought year.
The changes he's observing are not just from one year of drought. He specifically highlights a fire in 2018 leaving hills blackened and bare. In summer, the water comes not from rainfall but glaciers that are supposed to build up during winter. It's not just from this year.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#14> Now, almost 30 years later, in what might be the most profound shift of all, the power dynamic between humans and Yosemite has changed. To see nature so vulnerable not only feels depressing, but wrong, disorienting and scary. Beautiful piece, but that's hardly the whole story. Nature doesn't care about climate change and it couldn't care less about us. Sure, it might kill all the birds, trees, landscapes, but our p…
> our planet will adapt. We, humans, won't be able to. We are by far Nature’s most adaptable creation, we live everywhere from the harshest deserts to the frozen tundra. I find the idea that we won’t adapt remarkably laughable.
Humans have been around 6M years. The Earth has been around 4.5B years. I find the idea “we” will adapt because of humans’ success in adapting over a minute fraction of the Earth’s existence remarkably laughable.
People are also concerned about quality of life, not just survival.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#15I can certainly relate. I grew up a few hours away from Yosemite. I went there many times growing up as a kid in the 90s.
I moved away from California back in 2010. On a trip back home a couple of years ago, I visited Yosemite for the first time in many years.
I felt the same and couldn't believe what it was like. The valley filled to the brim with hours-long traffic jams—everything filled with smoke.
It was all very different from how I remembered it.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#16> Now, almost 30 years later, in what might be the most profound shift of all, the power dynamic between humans and Yosemite has changed. To see nature so vulnerable not only feels depressing, but wrong, disorienting and scary. Beautiful piece, but that's hardly the whole story. Nature doesn't care about climate change and it couldn't care less about us. Sure, it might kill all the birds, trees, landscapes, but our p…
> our planet will adapt. We, humans, won't be able to. We are by far Nature’s most adaptable creation, we live everywhere from the harshest deserts to the frozen tundra. I find the idea that we won’t adapt remarkably laughable.
Exactly. We'll survive, as a species, even if many will suffer - droughts, famine, mass migrations, conflicts stemming from both, extreme hot and cold weather in houses designed for more temperate climates for people used to temperate climates.
Or to put it more harshly, the wealthy will be able to adapt. A lot of people will suffer and/or die.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
> our planet will adapt. We, humans, won't be able to. We are by far Nature’s most adaptable creation, we live everywhere from the harshest deserts to the frozen tundra. I find the idea that we won’t adapt remarkably laughable.
Exactly. We'll survive, as a species, even if many will suffer - droughts, famine, mass migrations, conflicts stemming from both, extreme hot and cold weather in houses designed for more temperate climates for people used to temperate climates. Or to put it more harshly, the wealthy will be able to adapt. A lot of people will suffer and/or die.
Are you implying all those Inuits and desert tribes are clearly loaded?
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
> our planet will adapt. We, humans, won't be able to. We are by far Nature’s most adaptable creation, we live everywhere from the harshest deserts to the frozen tundra. I find the idea that we won’t adapt remarkably laughable.
Humans have been around 6M years. The Earth has been around 4.5B years. I find the idea “we” will adapt because of humans’ success in adapting over a minute fraction of the Earth’s existence remarkably laughable. People are also concerned about quality of life, not just survival.
We adapted to its harshest climates over a remarkably small timeframe, something that took other species eons. I think you’ve made my point.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. We'll survive, as a species, even if many will suffer - droughts, famine, mass migrations, conflicts stemming from both, extreme hot and cold weather in houses designed for more temperate climates for people used to temperate climates. Or to put it more harshly, the wealthy will be able to adapt. A lot of people will suffer and/or die.
Are you implying all those Inuits and desert tribes are clearly loaded?
Pretty sure they’re implying that in this day and age wealthy people can more easily move/acquire resources to survive than those with fewer.
Re: Opinion: What I Saw in Yosemite Was Devastating
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
> our planet will adapt. We, humans, won't be able to. We are by far Nature’s most adaptable creation, we live everywhere from the harshest deserts to the frozen tundra. I find the idea that we won’t adapt remarkably laughable.
Humans have been around 6M years. The Earth has been around 4.5B years. I find the idea “we” will adapt because of humans’ success in adapting over a minute fraction of the Earth’s existence remarkably laughable. People are also concerned about quality of life, not just survival.
It's not about timescales, it's about technology. We're sophisticated enough to maintain populations in pretty much every environment at this point, albeit at greater cost depending on which environment.
As for quality of life, those unwilling to adjust their expectations will filter themselves out. There are plenty of anti-natalists on Reddit proudly proclaiming they'll never have kids because the world already sucks too much. Well fine, but don't think everyone's going to go that route. Humanity got by for most of its existence with essentially no economic growth or quality of life improvements. Would suck to go back to that, but the species would continue.