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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]

#111
post #86

Weird. I used to worry about climate change and now I don’t. I guess the world has a way of finding its equilibrium. I do however worry about the accidental introduction of invasive species and diseases, which seems to be accelerating (see: citrus greening disease).

> Weird. I used to worry about climate change and now I don’t. That's funny! I was going to start my post with the exact same sentence! But for a totally different reason: I'm now convinced that there is no stopping the massive destruction of the natural environemnt. A much MUCH bigger problem than that of the climate alone. I'm not a "doomer", I'm a "realist". It's clear at this point that the world's ownership clas…

I agree with this sentiment. Theres no stopping it now, its just going to have to run its course and we'll see if theres much of a world worth living in at the end. I do laugh at billionaire bunkers tho, like how long are they going to survive when money means nothing and the plebs that are still alive are outside blocking the exits and airways with dirt and rocks.

edit: its funny to see the only people making sense getting downvoted because reasons.

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

#112
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont get it. Every scientist & 5yo kid will prove you that things accelerate with 9.81 m/s^2 when falling, and guess this is still science? Which is a proof of cobtradiction that your point doesnt hold.

It doesn't really make sense when talking about physical constants. But if someone told you that things always fall at that speed everywhere, including on space stations and on the moon, you might suspect something had gone wrong. The point dingnut makes is that science has to be falsifiable. That means you have to be able to articulate what set of observations would lead you to abandoning your theory. If someone sho…

1) No, no local or short-term weather is ever going to falsify or prove anything about the global average.

2) Assuming you are already convinced by the science that the global average temperature is quickly rising; one might ask: What are the consequences? And one of the consequences is more extreme weather, as there is more energy in the weather systems..

3) So one may point to extreme weather events and say "in the future, we'll have more of those, and that's why we need to stop emitting CO2". That doesn't mean the weather event is proof of global warming in any way -- it is just pointing to an illustration of what will happen if global warming continues; as measured by the GLOBAL temperature.

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

#113
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont get it. Every scientist & 5yo kid will prove you that things accelerate with 9.81 m/s^2 when falling, and guess this is still science? Which is a proof of cobtradiction that your point doesnt hold.

It doesn't really make sense when talking about physical constants. But if someone told you that things always fall at that speed everywhere, including on space stations and on the moon, you might suspect something had gone wrong. The point dingnut makes is that science has to be falsifiable. That means you have to be able to articulate what set of observations would lead you to abandoning your theory. If someone sho…

Basically, climate change is occurring, and is known to cause extreme weather events. So when there's an extreme weather event, it could be evidence of climate change. Each individual one is not proof of climate change, but in aggregate they are strong evidence. And of course they're not the only evidence.

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

#114
post #45

It's taboo to say this, but people worldwide have had far too many children, and I believe that overpopulation is the root of the sustainability crisis, including climate change and pollution. And that taboo is probably rooted in evolutionary psychology, people have a genetically driven tendency to criticize those who advocate having less children? So could there be an instinctual drive behind it? https://www.flashpa…

There's no such thing as "overpopulation" on its own. There's only population relative to resource abuse. A small fraction of the population using resources at the rate that your common local billionaire or environmentally abusive megacorp uses resources will be just as "over". A much larger population appropriately pricing externalities instead of ignoring them will not be "over". The number of people in India is no…

>There's no such thing as "overpopulation" on its own. There's only population relative to resource abuse.

This is an unfortunate delusion that is widespread, and exploited by governments and industries that seek to ravage what is left of our environment for profit.

If you believe and understand that the earth is a finite place, with finite resources (as all intelligent, rational people do), then you believe and understand that this finite place, with finite resources, can only support a finite population. Of course we can debate about what exactly the "sustainable" population is and we can agree that the "sustainable" population depends on how resources are managed, used and maintained, but there can be no disagreement that this number exists, and that if there are too many people our finite resources cannot sustainably support them no manner how efficiently they are distributed.

Unfortunately far too many people don't believe this, and don't understand that the earth is a finite place with finite resources. They insist that the earth can support an infinite number of people if only we manage our finite resources properly and impose a strict enough dietary and behavioral regiment on the teeming billions stuffed onto the planet.

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

#115
post #9

[flagged]

Same here, except the shorts bit. Not sure we are winners so: never before seen droughts in summer, extreme weather events and flooding at least every other year at scales we used to call once in a hundred years events. And then we are a lot less effected by all of this than other regions.

Also, I love snow and winter, so I really do miss this!

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

#116

Weird. I used to worry about climate change and now I don’t. I guess the world has a way of finding its equilibrium. I do however worry about the accidental introduction of invasive species and diseases, which seems to be accelerating (see: citrus greening disease).

[flagged]

> (while the ruling class continues to enjoy their luxuries.)

Not for long. Few political power can last that long.

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

#117
post #9

[flagged]

This sort of anecdote is exhausting. Growing up, I was skeptical of "global warming" and heard endless admonishments about how "weather is not climate" any time anyone around me made a comment about a particularly cold day proving anything about climate. But now, it's acceptable to make this kind of anecdote on an unseasonably warm day.. and on unseasonably cold days! Now you're an idiot if you don't see that weather…

> because it tells me that the people promoting the crisis see evidence in everything,

Are you saying you really believe that academic papers studying the GLOBAL temperature are using individual local weather events as evidence? That if you go to the IPCC reports they'll say "it sure was hot in California this week, so our gut feeling is..."?

Are there any other fields of science where you would dismiss the science based on other non-scientists associating themselves with it making anecdotes?

I think this is how to look at it:

Step 1) The science about GLOBAL TEMPERATURE doesn't have anything to do with local weather. It's statements about what you will see as the global average. That's testable, verifiable, etc (do you want to bet that the global average is COLDER in 10 years than today? I'll take your bet...)

Step 2) Given the predictions about the global temperature -- one may point to individual weather events as illustrations -- "hey, in the future we'll see more weather like this as the increased energy in the systems changes the patterns from what we are used to in the past". That's a valid statement; but it's not meant as anecdotal proof, it's just making a statement on what you're likely to see more of now and in the future, based on science that is NOT based on local weather events, but on looking at averages for the entire planet.

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

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no such thing as "overpopulation" on its own. There's only population relative to resource abuse. A small fraction of the population using resources at the rate that your common local billionaire or environmentally abusive megacorp uses resources will be just as "over". A much larger population appropriately pricing externalities instead of ignoring them will not be "over". The number of people in India is no…

>There's no such thing as "overpopulation" on its own. There's only population relative to resource abuse. This is an unfortunate delusion that is widespread, and exploited by governments and industries that seek to ravage what is left of our environment for profit. If you believe and understand that the earth is a finite place, with finite resources (as all intelligent, rational people do), then you believe and unde…

Yes, but the vast majority of the resource consumption happens for people in rich countries in the West, and those are not the countries with the large population growth.

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

#119

Okay, but what now?

Stop burning stuff. Tell other people to stop burning stuff. Tell your representatives to work on alternatives to burning stuff. Don't invest in companies that burn a lot of stuff. Avoid waterfront property.

That's not going to be sufficient to prevent climate change (well, nothing we'll realistically do now will be sufficient to do that - it's too late, just as scientists were warning us decades ago), so probably the question is less about reducing climate change but rather how to mitigate the consequences of climate change to you personally and your community - "avoid waterfront property" is one step there, but probably we can do much more.

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

#120

Weird. I used to worry about climate change and now I don’t. I guess the world has a way of finding its equilibrium. I do however worry about the accidental introduction of invasive species and diseases, which seems to be accelerating (see: citrus greening disease).

It's a lot easier to worry about sulfur dioxide and NOx producing rain compared to worrying about global carbon emissions. Climate Change seems best dealt with at a local level, with the cause of the problem being pollution.

This is why it is important to know your local super-emitter: https://climatetrace.org/explore
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