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I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

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Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#581

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I notice a surprising unwillingness to consider that the situation may be, in fact, terrible, and the arguments are usually "well changing lifestyles is impractical" at though the current status quo is sustainable.

How did the lyrics to that song go? And when you ask them, "How much should we give?" Hoo, they only answer, "More, more more more!" I gave up any hope of having meaningful relationships with other people in the name of building a good career in my life because that's what my parents wanted from me. I got into pistol shooting because it was primarily a solo activity. Then the government passed laws decreeing that han…

> I'm tired of being told that it's my fault the world is screwed up.

It's not your fault specifically though, it's our fault.

I'm fortunate that I'm in Australia, so my parents now have a hybrid car, a heat pump hot water and solar panels.

I have an EV, electric hot water, solar and home battery but... it was only 2 years ago I was renting, I had no solar panels, gas hot water, petrol car, and no home battery.

I did my best to reduce my electricity usage + paying extra to use the 'green power' option, my car was the smallest/most efficient I could get, I got a motorcycle to reduce the amount of oil use for daily trips to work.

My point of view is that you can only do what is in your capacity to do, and so long as you can say that to yourself you're good, we need more people like you.

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#582

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I notice a surprising unwillingness to consider that the situation may be, in fact, terrible, and the arguments are usually "well changing lifestyles is impractical" at though the current status quo is sustainable.

How did the lyrics to that song go? And when you ask them, "How much should we give?" Hoo, they only answer, "More, more more more!" I gave up any hope of having meaningful relationships with other people in the name of building a good career in my life because that's what my parents wanted from me. I got into pistol shooting because it was primarily a solo activity. Then the government passed laws decreeing that han…

I had a multi split system air source heat pump installed for 7k. And indeed, government has a lot of blame for the high cost of living. I'd love to live in a nice, cheap bungalow court in San Diego close enough to things to not need a car, but it's de facto illegal to build them most places since too much parking is required. The food prices suck though. If only corn subsidies could be applied more sensibly.

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#583

Why would anyone worry about things they have no control on? People that overestimate the value of their opinions, maybe.

But you have partial control.

You can vote for candidates that take climate change seriously.

You can decide to buy or lease an EV instead of an ICE one.

You can raise the bar for when you book a flight.

And so on...

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#584

There’s a new book from Hannah Ritchie called „Not the end of the world“, that argues for optimism, without denying the reality of the situation. It’s a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.

The whole premise of the book is a multi-layered hail mary, or a hail mary that continually plays out like a jackpot based on vibes and misconstruing the forces that are causing climate change. Not sure why you'd call this "fantastic" other than it's a feel-good book without any evidence to support it. >Carbon emissions per capita are actually down [1] It takes maybe 2 minutes, maybe upwards of 10, to realize why thi…

As you've observed, averages can be misleading because they're not robust to outliers. However, this seems most relevant to something like income, where we're interested in "most people" and don't care so much about the one ultra-rich person in the sample.

This appears to be less true for something like emissions, where the overall total is most relevant -- unless you're arguing that it's masking an "unfair" situation where improvements are coming from one group and should be coming from the other?

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#585
post #558

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great! Much nicer than Boston.

how were you able to permanently move from the states to Finland - were you already a citizen there? (I assume you mean Boston Mass, unless you are talking about another Boston already in the EU)

This. Immigrating to Finland isn’t as easy as just showing up and wading across a shallow river like in the US.

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#586
post #557
post #550

[flagged]

Sorry, but that sounds like a starting a suicide cult. Life will go on.

How was my comment related to suicide? I was talking about the process that will take place - and since it will - then at THAT time it still shouldn't be painful.

Life might or might not go on, but I don't see any reason to make our lives more miserable just to make sure even more people can experience those miserable lives. That's why I don't care about preserving resources or living conditions for "future generations".

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#587
post #508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Finland achieved energy self sufficiency last year thanks to a good combination of nuclear + solar + hydro. Energy means, well, energy. Finland still drives combustion vehicles (a lot of them, last I was there they drove some of the oldest cars in the EU on average due to high taxes for buying new ones) and probably mostly heat with energy not originating from the trio you mentioned. I think you meant electricity,…

Let’s also not forget another human activity, also a kind of energy consumption, but in a more direct way, aka eating. Livestock produces around 15% of global greenhouse emissions according to my quick Google search. And I am sure some Finns like to eat meat.

How much greenhouse emissions does wildlife produce?

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#588

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar, though leaving the US had a lot to do with hedging our bets against a crumbling democracy as well. How is Finland? It was on our list but we wanted to have good train connections to the continent so ended up in the Netherlands (but above sea level). Oulu has impressive winter cycling though.

Whatever bothered you about US politics is also happening in Europe. There's no Trump, he's one of a kind, but there's polarization, distrust in institutions and populism just fine. It's the same disease really. Also - I can't imagine North Europe will remain prosperous if America somehow fails, the West is very much dependent on the U.S (now also for energy). But I do hope you enjoy your time, I lived in Leiden for…

True, it's a big concern. I don't love Geert Wilders' popularity either.

I said it's a hedge, not a sure thing!

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#589
post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true, but I think it's quite debatable what would actually happen. Most species wouldn't need to adapt, but just migrate. There are a lot of species which already thrive in warm / tropical climates, and those species would increase in numbers.

And what about the species that do not warm nor thrive in tropical climates? Or those that cannot migrate? Even if some species increase in numbers, it still means that all other species would get lost, reducing biodiversity and effectively meaning an extinction-level event.

> ...all other species would get lost, reducing biodiversity and effectively meaning an extinction-level event.

Reducing biodiversity doesn't equate to an extension-level event though. It also doesn't mean all species who didn't thrive would be lost - many would be affected but not existentially so.

I'm reminded of George Carlin's joke about the planet being fine long-term, we're the ones who will be screwed.

Re: I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]

#590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because it's more just a nice secondary factor. ;) Mostly I moved because it amused me. I have a long history of going to places I can't actually locate on a map, eg I thought Northwestern University would be in Portland, not Chicago - imagine my shock when I stepped off the plane. Similarly with Finland. I knew so little about the place that when the opportunity to move arose I couldn't not take it, it would…

How were you able to board the right plane if you thought you were flying to Portland?

Op is drunk or high or something…
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