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Can Dirt Save the Earth?

nytimes.com

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Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#41

Post by saiya-jin »

ciconia wrote: post #26
monkeydreams wrote: post #16

Australian farmers, suffering through yet another "unexpectedly intensive" drought, could learn a lot from this. I mean they won't, but they could. Instead they will whinge and complain and put their hands out and watch their stock die and, when rain falls again, they will take the government-aid cheques and overstock their land and continue the laziest, dumbest form of farming they could import from the cooler, wett…

That's exactly the mindset of Farmers here in Burgundy, France. We just had one of the dryest summers on record - we're still running a water deficit. Farmer's response: demand government subsidies!

Well that's France, a country with arguably most fucked up mentality of citizens in the world, at least in some sense(s).

Just look at many news coming from there for last 20 years related to farm subsidizing, or people demanding more money out of thin air while in the same time wanting even more social state, and of course higher pensions too. I presume somebody skipped the math class in primary school.

If you don't like reality? Normal person would look at option on howto improve one's situation. Maybe work harder (anybody can work more than 35h/week, while having 7-10 weeks of paid vacation per year), learn something new, move abroad if you really don't like it there. Well, french go out, burn some cars, destroy historical monuments, block rest of the country or take them hostage in some other way and government will for sure cave in.

I am not impressed, to be polite.

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#42

Post by ForHackernews »

ars wrote: post #17
scumblr wrote: post #4

I love reading about clever ideas like this, but at the same time, I'm leery of the notion that we can fix the climate at the last minute, a narrative that stems from the late capitalist imperative to innovate. We don't need to innovate to find a solution; we need to act.

> we need to act What actions are you suggesting? And keep in mind that any action that reduces standard of living will cause deaths, and ultimately more emissions because people won't have spare more for environmental causes. So bearing that in mind, what actions are you suggesting?

What are you suggesting? Doing nothing is catastrophic: https://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=8433

I dispute that "any action that reduces standard of living will cause deaths" -- there are all sorts of ways my life could be made worse that won't kill me.

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#43

Post by Faaak »

saiya-jin wrote: post #41
ciconia wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly the mindset of Farmers here in Burgundy, France. We just had one of the dryest summers on record - we're still running a water deficit. Farmer's response: demand government subsidies!

Well that's France, a country with arguably most fucked up mentality of citizens in the world, at least in some sense(s). Just look at many news coming from there for last 20 years related to farm subsidizing, or people demanding more money out of thin air while in the same time wanting even more social state, and of course higher pensions too. I presume somebody skipped the math class in primary school. If you don't…

I am not impressed by your disdain of the French people.

Looking at your comments, you seem so polarized about things (traders, for example), without even knowing how they work; it's sad...

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#44

Post by nicolaslem »

saiya-jin wrote: post #41
ciconia wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly the mindset of Farmers here in Burgundy, France. We just had one of the dryest summers on record - we're still running a water deficit. Farmer's response: demand government subsidies!

Well that's France, a country with arguably most fucked up mentality of citizens in the world, at least in some sense(s). Just look at many news coming from there for last 20 years related to farm subsidizing, or people demanding more money out of thin air while in the same time wanting even more social state, and of course higher pensions too. I presume somebody skipped the math class in primary school. If you don't…

Parent's comment is off-topic but let me get the facts straight: a worker in France having a 35h work week will typically get 5 weeks of paid time holiday, not 7-10 weeks.

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#45

Post by Beltiras »

triodan wrote: post #29

Doesn't the account in the article run counter to the narrative that cows are massive greenhouse gas producers? Is there an alternative to grazing that would not require cows?

Feeding seaweed to cows reduces methane emissions by as much as 99%.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/cows-seaweed-metha...

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#48

Post by tonyedgecombe »

harryh wrote: post #9
scumblr wrote: post #4

I love reading about clever ideas like this, but at the same time, I'm leery of the notion that we can fix the climate at the last minute, a narrative that stems from the late capitalist imperative to innovate. We don't need to innovate to find a solution; we need to act.

Of course we need to innovate. Billions of people aren't going to voluntarily go back to living in terrible poverty.

You don't need to live in terrible poverty to reduce your carbon footprint.

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#49

Post by tonyedgecombe »

ars wrote: post #17
scumblr wrote: post #4

I love reading about clever ideas like this, but at the same time, I'm leery of the notion that we can fix the climate at the last minute, a narrative that stems from the late capitalist imperative to innovate. We don't need to innovate to find a solution; we need to act.

> we need to act What actions are you suggesting? And keep in mind that any action that reduces standard of living will cause deaths, and ultimately more emissions because people won't have spare more for environmental causes. So bearing that in mind, what actions are you suggesting?

any action that reduces standard of living will cause deaths

Not really, the US has much higher GDP per capita than Europe but lower life expectancy.

Re: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

#50

Post by JulianMorrison »

vkou wrote: post #15
CM30 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no other way. Any attempt to get people to 'change' their lifestyle now is ineffective, and any attempt to force them to will just be met with a coup/failed government. At the end of the day, technology is the only thing that will fix climate issues. Anything else is simply not possible.

And if we don't develop the technology in time?

We die. Obviously.
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