Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change • Hacker News Board

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#21

Post by tj_reed » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 6:07 PM UTC

happyscrappy wrote: post #20

tj_reed wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's probably pretty useful for ppl who can't really bother to read up on climate change. probably a lot of ppl. so yeah, sure, some jellyfish close down a power plant, but it probably causes loads of financial losses... i think this actually already happened? we are probably looking at complete collapses in housing, transport, sanitation and health in the coming decades if politicians and companies keep at the green…

>we are probably looking at complete collapses in housing, transport, sanitation and health in the coming decades Right. You won't need a retirement fund because you will rule the apocalyptic wasteland.

probably not. suppose what kinda retirement plan you got? i'm not hedging my bets on my state pension plan, that stuff will go bankrupt long before i get to see any kind of pay off.

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#22

Post by evenwestvang » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 6:19 PM UTC

dreadsword wrote: post #13

Dear god. Who is it that thinks these crazy visualizations add any kind of value to whatever message they're trying to communicate?

Hm, me for one. Would you care to elaborate on your exasperation?

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#23

Post by towelguy » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 6:24 PM UTC

I don't really see what's wrong with the climate changing. It has happened before. People just want to mantain the status quo.

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#24

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 6:37 PM UTC

phy6 wrote: post #8

From the graphs, apparently there is no future in which I'm allowed to accept a lot of nuclear power into the mix.

[deleted]

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#25

Post by egeozcan » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 6:40 PM UTC

dreadsword wrote: post #13

Dear god. Who is it that thinks these crazy visualizations add any kind of value to whatever message they're trying to communicate?

People with "we should make it this complicated because we can" attitude. In other words, people who'd rather show off their skills instead of solving a problem.

This hurts the users because they have to spend more time/effort, it hurts the cause/business because some users just give up, and it hurts the reputation of the web design profession because people then associate them with complex solutions which is definitely not the outcome they are (or, should be) aiming for.

I'm not the authority on this subject but my idea is that the designers are more successful when they can present very complicated information in a more basic way without sacrificing usability. The problem could be getting paid by the complexity of the outcome, rather than the utility. Just a guess.

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#26

Post by aquadrop » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 6:43 PM UTC

evenwestvang wrote: post #18

nrzuk wrote: post #15

Crashed chrome on my mac! Also how are you suppose to scroll without a touchpad?!

Sorry about that, we had lots of trouble with WebGL in Chrome under Yosemite. It did seem to clear up with a new release from Google a few days ago. The click-drag interaction on desktop is slightly goofy. We discussed adding cursor key and clickable arrows for previous and next, but concluded that it wasn't that bad. It's super nice on touchpads and touch.

It works awful in chrome under Windows too. Firefox is alright though.

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#27

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 7:03 PM UTC

josho wrote: post #5

I love good visualizations, this one is neat. Unfortunately the visuals don't carry much data with it. That is, it didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know--climate change will provide more extreme (hot/cold) weather patterns. Even worse, viewing this almost makes me less inclined to worry about climate change. That is in nearly a decade the leading headline is jellyfish closing down a power plant. Hmm, ok,…

[deleted]

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#28

Post by lynchdt » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 7:03 PM UTC

It's all hunky dory, mostly, until you jump from 2090 to 2100. At that point the apocalypse hits, obviously.

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#29

Post by codingdave » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 7:03 PM UTC

Triangles! Triangles everywhere! And speculative headlines!

And a very important point trying to be made. But in this case the visualizations actually reduced value, making it more about the bells and whistles, and less about the actual message.

Re: Global Weirding: Visualizing Climate Change

#30

Post by jakethedog » Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 8:12 PM UTC

mckoss wrote: post #12

josho wrote: post #5

I love good visualizations, this one is neat. Unfortunately the visuals don't carry much data with it. That is, it didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know--climate change will provide more extreme (hot/cold) weather patterns. Even worse, viewing this almost makes me less inclined to worry about climate change. That is in nearly a decade the leading headline is jellyfish closing down a power plant. Hmm, ok,…

Do you have any reference for an IPCC claim that global warming will cause deeper cooling??? I've not seen it, though I've read all the IPCC summaries. Reference, please.

It is not deeper cooling in the global average temperature but periods of intense cold during the winter. There is debate in the scientific community with some arguing that melting sea ice causes an increase in frequency of polar vortex events while others think these events are controlled by pacific ssts.