31–40 of 232 posts
The sad part is, it's not happening because we couldn't do anything but because we didn't do what we could. Remember the sinking island scene in Erik the Viking?
We should take note that even now we have companies pushing back against any changes to our oil consumption. They're literally intent on destroying our way of life to get a bit more profit.
At which point do you think humanity will start seriously thinking about radical solutions? Such as detonating thermonuclear weapons to throw enough dust above the troposphere to cool the planet down? I'm thinking we're still really far away. Migration from areas that become uninhabitable is still weak. And it doesn't look like any state that has substantial military/commercial/political power is interested in starti…
At which point do you think humanity will start seriously thinking about radical solutions? Such as detonating thermonuclear weapons to throw enough dust above the troposphere to cool the planet down? I'm thinking we're still really far away. Migration from areas that become uninhabitable is still weak. And it doesn't look like any state that has substantial military/commercial/political power is interested in starti…
The "radical" solutions are not just throwing more technology at the problems. That's how we got ourselves into this mess in the first place. The solution is to stop mindless consumption. We use the same material to wrap and bake food and drink unhealthy drinks as we do to build airplanes. We use plastic for use cases that take place over seconds and minutes and then throw it away. We drive everywhere because of poor…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> At which point do you think humanity will start seriously thinking about radical solutions? You mean, like, switching to a vegan diet, using public transport and stop flying? Those seem radical enough for most people in the Northern Hemisphere. > Such as detonating thermonuclear weapons to throw enough dust above the troposphere to cool the planet down? Weird world, one in which people can consider drastically chan…
Individual decisions like that are only good for making yourself feel good about doing something, but it’s close to meaningless when it comes to actually solving it. It’s systemic solutions that are needed. Some of those may include disincentivizing consumption. But it’s also not simple given that in many places there’s serious pushback against that. And also the economic cost. Everything is interwoven. I wish people…
My point is about the fact that we already know and have most of the solutions: less consumption, less emissions, less destruction of our environment. Yet, most people with decision power (be it as individuals, as heads of governments or companies) refuse to accept and follow them. Instead, many prefer to propose global-scale, geo-modifications whose results are unknown and potentially more dangerous.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still no solution for nuclear waste, still depend on external water cooling, security can't handle threads like cyber attacks and airplane crashes. That generation of power plants isn't really helping and new ones need a lot of time to build and produce lots of CO2 in the process.
All true, but right now those risks pale in comparison to the ongoing disasters caused by fossil fuels.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> At which point do you think humanity will start seriously thinking about radical solutions? You mean, like, switching to a vegan diet, using public transport and stop flying? Those seem radical enough for most people in the Northern Hemisphere. > Such as detonating thermonuclear weapons to throw enough dust above the troposphere to cool the planet down? Weird world, one in which people can consider drastically chan…
Individual decisions like that are only good for making yourself feel good about doing something, but it’s close to meaningless when it comes to actually solving it. It’s systemic solutions that are needed. Some of those may include disincentivizing consumption. But it’s also not simple given that in many places there’s serious pushback against that. And also the economic cost. Everything is interwoven. I wish people…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We should take note that even now we have companies pushing back against any changes to our oil consumption. They're literally intent on destroying our way of life to get a bit more profit.
Source?
The sad part is, it's not happening because we couldn't do anything but because we didn't do what we could. Remember the sinking island scene in Erik the Viking?
We should take note that even now we have companies pushing back against any changes to our oil consumption. They're literally intent on destroying our way of life to get a bit more profit.
At which point do you think humanity will start seriously thinking about radical solutions? Such as detonating thermonuclear weapons to throw enough dust above the troposphere to cool the planet down? I'm thinking we're still really far away. Migration from areas that become uninhabitable is still weak. And it doesn't look like any state that has substantial military/commercial/political power is interested in starti…
> At which point do you think humanity will start seriously thinking about radical solutions? You mean, like, switching to a vegan diet, using public transport and stop flying? Those seem radical enough for most people in the Northern Hemisphere. > Such as detonating thermonuclear weapons to throw enough dust above the troposphere to cool the planet down? Weird world, one in which people can consider drastically chan…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We should take note that even now we have companies pushing back against any changes to our oil consumption. They're literally intent on destroying our way of life to get a bit more profit.
But our oil consumption essentially is our way of life. Changing it will have enormous effects on modern life. A lot of people are going to see a significant drop in their quality of life as a result. This is why it's so hard to change things in the first place, it's not about the companies, but about average people.
Although personal responsibility is never a bad thing, we need to focus on the big companies that have been deliberately hiding climate science for decades - they're the ones doing the lion's share of the polluting and suppressing alternatives.