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Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

thewalrus.ca

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Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#71

Post by bequanna »

op00to wrote: post #12
swader999 wrote: post #8

What happened in Alberta was just a couple weeks of warm weather after a fairly cold winter. The timing was right when new growth hadn't had a chance to take hold so all the dry grass and tinder was perfect fuel. The rap attack helicopter crews were dismantled in both BC and Alberta to save a few millions at best. Easily doubled the size of the burn area not having this capability. This is normal but not new. Alberta…

The problem isn’t just the fire. It’s the strange weather patterns that bring smoke down to areas that have never seen conditions like that. Was the warm ocean keeping the jet stream from its typical shape?

These weather patterns aren’t new or all that strange.

This set of conditions periodically occur over time. The difference is that now people have hyper awareness of uncommon but normal weather events. Cue confirmation bias.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#72

Post by FrustratedMonky »

perfunctory wrote: post #16

Too bad the author is not offering any alternative. It's not good enough to just say "stop doing X". It would be nice if it's followed by "Do Y instead". Maybe I missed it, but the only thing I found in the whole article that resembles a counterproposal is a single sentence in the end - "... policy flows from conversation and debate instead of force." So we are supposed to have more conversation and debate? Sounds li…

The point is that the 'new normal' is lulling people into 'doing nothing'. The 'do Y' is, simply take action to be better. Whatever it is.

Each X needs a different Y. So go do Y for that particular problem, instead of nothing.

How can this one author tell you what to do for every problem outlined. The point is to stop doing nothing.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#74

Post by inconceivable »

boredumb wrote: post #3

I think all the alarmist language is doing a massive disservice to environmental concerns for the reason the author is portraying but also a much different reason where a lot of people tend to greet hysterics with absolute doubt and discern. When environmentalists decided instead of having a real public conversation and resorting to what a lot of people perceive as the people screaming on the corner about the end tim…

okay so don't eat meat, take public transit, don't live in a suburb, never run AC or use gas stoves, and never fly in an airplane. is that about right?

this is such a bad pitch that it makes me wonder if it's actually a conspiracy funded by the energy incumbents.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#75

Post by tourmalinetaco »

exitb wrote: post #19
swader999 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We dealt with the ozone hole fairly well. There hasn't been total nuclear war. The Netherlands is ten feet under sea level and does fine. Polar bears and all other bears are absolutely thriving.

Neither of these things required any change from regular people. In fact, today many people say that ozone hole just disappeared, because the changes needed were so transparent, no one even noticed. Is there a way people can continue their normal lives, but still eliminate the green house gasses emissions?

> Is there a way people can continue their normal lives, but still eliminate the green house gasses emissions?

Yes, but real change can never happen as long as those who are in power continue to remain in power. Though green house emissions are a smokescreen used by serial climate offenders to present a “green” image while causing immense ecological damage behind the scenes. It’s important, undoubtedly, but one of many issues such as habitat destruction, chemical dumping, e-waste, etc.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#76

Post by jl6 »

hermannj314 wrote: post #61
pixl97 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the problem comes to 'return to. Your method sounds rather violent.

We can do it gradually or nature will do it violently. Every species needs population control. If we want air conditioning, commercial jets, and bottled water, then we need to get global population under a billion people.

The #1 method of population reduction is to increase education and opportunity for girls and women in developing countries.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#77

Post by throwanem »

derefr wrote: post #21
exitb wrote: post #9

While I support the efforts to prevent and reverse the environmental damage we're causing, personally I don't believe they'll really succeed. It seems that human society is fundamentally incapable of acting in a coordinated way against a global, long term threat. So at a certain point convincing people to take the bus instead of a car, specifically because that will save the planet, starts to seem like a lie. It's no…

Why would "convincing people to take the bus instead of a car" require coordinated action? Just stop letting them buy gas. (Where by "them" I mean individual passenger-vehicle drivers. Continue to allow commercial vehicles to buy gas, but require that they show their commercial-vehicle license at the register.) A country could do it; or it could be done city by city with municipal bylaws to act only upon the worst po…

Congratulations! You've just made it impossible for the people who operate every essential service on which you depend to get to work.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#78

Post by pif »

Levitz wrote: post #67
perfunctory wrote: post #16

Too bad the author is not offering any alternative. It's not good enough to just say "stop doing X". It would be nice if it's followed by "Do Y instead". Maybe I missed it, but the only thing I found in the whole article that resembles a counterproposal is a single sentence in the end - "... policy flows from conversation and debate instead of force." So we are supposed to have more conversation and debate? Sounds li…

The subtext under the headline seems direct enough: >When it comes to the climate crisis, new normals convey a single, grim message: instead of acting, get used to it The idea is to stop calling things "The new normal" since that implies acceptance. Fight instead. Don't go along with the idea that the world has to be like this.

Concerning climate change, the world is going to be like this.

All models are clear that global warming cannot be reversed. No "turning green" will lower average temperatures enough in our lifetime. Thus, acceptance is capital, because only acceptance of reality can lead to sensible solutions.

As a side note, screaming "It's too late: hurry up!" is really an idiot way to advocate your cause, whatever your cause may be.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#79

Post by tourmalinetaco »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #72
perfunctory wrote: post #16

Too bad the author is not offering any alternative. It's not good enough to just say "stop doing X". It would be nice if it's followed by "Do Y instead". Maybe I missed it, but the only thing I found in the whole article that resembles a counterproposal is a single sentence in the end - "... policy flows from conversation and debate instead of force." So we are supposed to have more conversation and debate? Sounds li…

The point is that the 'new normal' is lulling people into 'doing nothing'. The 'do Y' is, simply take action to be better. Whatever it is. Each X needs a different Y. So go do Y for that particular problem, instead of nothing. How can this one author tell you what to do for every problem outlined. The point is to stop doing nothing.

The problem is that any good I, as an individual, can produce is far outweighed by the damage a multi-trillion dollar businesses can cause. This isn’t to say that individuals should do nothing, this is to say we need to deconstruct and limit those who actively harm the environment, starting from the largest and working down.

Re: Stop Calling Each New Disaster “The New Normal”

#80

Post by exitb »

swader999 wrote: post #63
Timon3 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are hard limits on how much heat a human can take. We cannot adapt beyond, except for literally never going outside again.

Which is the norm and always has been in places like Arizona in the summer. I didn't go out for more than an hour at a time in Tucson in the summer when I lived there. Anything longer and you seriously thought about and prepared for it. This has always been the way humans lived in these areas.

Arizona is a warm, but dry place. Temperature of 38C can be both mildly inconvenient and deadly, depending on the humidity. There are densely populated areas of the world that are much more humid than Arizona and are getting warmer. Eventually people will ditch those places and start to move towards milder climates.
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